


Until It Wasn't

by SubtleHalcyon



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, i never know how to tag things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-10-16 03:26:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 47
Words: 241,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10562736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubtleHalcyon/pseuds/SubtleHalcyon
Summary: Life in Insomnia felt endless, and grey.It feels as if the only thing that can mend a weary heart is a fresh start, and a new beginning.





	1. Chapter 1

Life in Insomnia was dull.

I woke up with a few hours until my alarm was due to go off to wake me from my slumber so I could go and work my crappy job so that I could pay for my crappy apartment. Beside me was a lump of bed covers that was snoring far too loudly for my liking. I sighed, rolling over, groping for the packet of cigarettes that was on my bedside table. I opened the box and let out another long sigh as I saw there was only one left. There was no way that I could hide in my apartment with the pile of limbs next to me that wouldn’t stop snoring. No way.

I hauled myself out of bed, and rid myself of the few blankets that hadn't been snatched up and quickly got changed. It was routine of mine to go to the nearest convenience store early in the morning when I'd run out of nicotine. Every time I got to the end of a box, I'd tell myself that I really needed to kick the habit. Regardless, I'd still find myself going to the nearest store to buy another packet.

I found myself hesitating for a moment, as I hovered at the front door, bundled in thick layers to protect myself from the fresh winter wind.

Was it really okay just to leave him by himself?

I didn't know the guy. I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t rob me blind while I was gone. But as I looked around my small, shitty apartment, I knew there wasn't anything that I could really lose.

I closed the heavy metal door behind me, and began to march down the street towards the store, my last cigarette lit in between my lips. I inhaled a long breath of smoke and slowly pushed it out again, wishing that I felt some kind of immediate relief from the action.

I didn't. It still felt like my brain was tangled up in a mass of stress and anxiety. I hadn't even been awake ten minutes and I already felt burdened by the grey skies that hung over my head.

I thought about a lot of things as I took the short walk, but most of all, as I did every morning, I wondered how my life had gotten to that point. I was a mess of a human. I'd work endlessly to pay the extortionate rent, and the only relief I ever found was in other people; strangers who paid me the slightest bit of attention. I wanted to feel like I was important. I wanted to matter.

But I didn't.

And every morning after I'd feel guilty and disgusting.

Yet I'd repeat my cycle of finding men in bars who would give me one night of feeling elated, and confident. It only worked for a few hours, or until the next morning. I was sure that this was my own rock bottom. It was my personal hell of waking up each morning and trying to make some sense of why I was alive. I didn't have a purpose, or at least I felt that way.

Life in Insomnia was endlessly colourless.

There was little I could do apart from dream of a better future. Maybe the only reason that I continued to exist in Eos was so that I could cling to the idea of a better tomorrow. Yet every morning, I would start the day off wondering when that tomorrow was going to come.

Would it come? Was it something I needed to force myself into?

My thoughts continued as my boots fell into the thin layer of snow beneath them, making quiet crunching sounds. The cold air stung my bare cheeks, and made my eyes water. I continued to focus on the cigarette that was slowly getting smaller and smaller with each passing drag, yet I couldn’t find relief.

"Excuse me?" I heard a voice from behind me.

I turned to see an unfamiliar face, yet something about him immediately made me feel nostalgic. He was bundled up in as many layers as me, his blonde hair hidden beneath a hat, and the lower part of his face covered with a scarf.

"You dropped this," he said, offering my wallet to me.

I really was lost in my lonely thoughts if I hadn’t noticed that I’d almost lost something so important. I reached out my bare hand and took it from him with a half-hearted smile.

"Thank you," I replied in a hoarse voice, immediately back peddling away from him.

I saw his eyebrows knit together as he looked at me, and all I could do was lower my head.

"Don’t I know you?" he asked as he tilted his head.

It must have been someone I went to school with. Someone who I couldn’t remember. I shook my head.

"No," I answered before turning my back towards him and continuing down the street towards my destination. Even if I did know him, I didn’t want anyone to recognise me from my past self. I was different back then. I had a look of ignorance and hope that I hated to think about.

I didn't want anyone to see how I'd lost that look over the years as I pulled myself away from everything and everyone I knew.

"You look really familiar," he insisted, taking a few quick steps after me. He caught me by the shoulder, and I stopped dead in my tracks. Maybe we really did know each other at a point. I turned to him and scanned his face, his cheeks stained pink from the brisk wind that had been battering his skin without end.

"I promise you, if you do recognise me, the person who you knew isn’t here anymore," I said with an insistence that made his frown become an expression that was full of concern. I shook my shoulder free, and began down the street again.

He didn't chase me. I didn't hear any footsteps from behind me, almost like the wind had frozen him in place.

Was that what I wanted?

Maybe I was hoping for him to chase after me and save me from myself.

But he didn't.

It occurred to me at that point, as I left the figure behind me, that maybe I needed a fresh start. Maybe I needed to be away from Insomnia, so that at least if I really felt so anxious and stressed, I wouldn't feel scared of running into people who I used to know who were undoubtedly far more successful than I was. People who were undoubtedly so much happier than I was. 

I had nothing left in Insomnia.

Maybe it was foolish hope that I was clinging to, but I thought on it as I reached the store. I thought on it as I walked back towards my apartment. I thought on it as I took a detour so that I could smoke more cigarettes.

My life in Insomnia was grey, and bleak. But maybe, just maybe, I was the only one who could save myself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wah, this is my first time writing fanfiction since the golden days of Quizilla (I realise that I've aged myself phenomenally with that one sentence). 
> 
> I'd really appreciate any feedback you have to give me if you have the time. I've been super nervous about sharing my writing with people for the longest time, so I figured this was a good way to try and get past it, haha. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

The first morning of my new life was brought about as the sunlight from the bright sky began to pour in through the window of the trailer, right onto the bed I was curled up on. No matter how tightly I scrunched my eyes, or how much tossing and turning I did in an attempt to escape it, I couldn't find sleep again. 

After a few minutes of pointlessly fighting against the light, I sighed, and threw back the thin duvet before swinging my feet around to plant them on the floor. I stretched, and yawned, and did everything I could do to attempt to wake myself up, but it all seemed futile. 

As I became more and more conscious of where I was, I tried to bring myself out of my bad mood brought around by not quite getting enough sleep. The bed in the trailer wasn't at all comfortable, and my slumber was already broken up by the occasional loud engine roaring past the road that lead to Insomnia.

This was my new start.

It had been months since I’d made the decision to make the move to Lestallum, and today was the first morning I woke up in my new reality. I'd worked tirelessly, done countless hours of overtime in my soul destroying job just to scrounge together enough money to make the trip to Lestallum, and put a deposit down on a quaint apartment.

That morning was the first morning in my entire life that I'd woken up outside of the walls of Insomnia. I thought it would feel... different. Instead, it felt like any other morning. I tried to shake the thought from my head. 

Maybe the idea just hadn't sunk in. That was what I told myself. Maybe it just felt too much like a dream, and that's why I didn’t feel excitement. To look on the positive side, I didn't feel nervous, or scared. I didn't feel much of anything aside from the pang of hunger at the pit of my stomach.

Attempting to shake the thoughts that whirled around in my head, I stood up and began to dig through the large backpack that was sat on the nearest chair. In it was everything that I still owned. Everything that I'd deemed too necessary not to sell in my haste to get out of the city, or things that I hadn't thrown away in attempt to shirk off the memories of my past. It was mostly clothes, and other essentials as well as a few books that I'd enjoyed reading.

The weather seemed as if it were quite warm, but I was unsure how much of that was down to the humidity that seemed to surround me in the small trailer. I pulled out a tank top and a pair of jeans, and changed into them as quickly as I could. I tied my hair up into the messiest bun imaginable before exiting the trailer into the intense sunlight.

It was way too warm for jeans, I decided almost immediately. But my stomach began to grumble impatiently as I caught a glimpse of the diner out of the corner of my eye. I quickly decided that it would be my first port of call as I locked up the trailer. I was thankful it wasn't too far away. I was far too sleepy to make it any distance without internally complaining to myself.

"What is it that I can get for you?"

The man behind the counter asked sheepishly as he talked to me through a low and stuttery voice. I could only assume he was Takka, the owner of the diner. I did my best to shoot him a quick smile before looking up at the menu overhead, considering my options. 

"Hmm. The Jambalaya looks pretty good."

I fidgeted in my pockets to pull out the scant amount of gil that had somehow separated itself from my wallet. Luckily it was just enough, and as Takka began to busy himself preparing my food, I couldn't help but sigh.

I couldn't help but treat myself to one of the most expensive things on the menu even though I'd be living off of my savings for the unforeseeable future. I was already being too reckless, and I couldn't think that there would be a way for me to make a little bit extra as I made my way to my new home. 

I somehow managed to convince myself that it was a justified enough purchase. Something to celebrate my new start. So with one of the many thoughts out of my head, I turned and found a seat that overlooked the entirety of Hammerhead. The landscape that surrounded me was a lot more barren than I'd anticipated. I'd only had Insomnia as a reference, where I was always surrounded by tall and intimidating buildings. 

Hammerhead had this view that was uninterrupted. It seemed to go on for miles that way. I rested my head in my hands as I started to watch the people that seemed to peruse around Hammerhead with no real goal in mind. They'd wander between different people, and chatter their day away.

The people of Hammerhead really did seem different to everyone else I'd ever encountered. Their lives seemed so much more leisurely. The thought that there were people who existed that way, rather in the way that I did, brought a small amount of warmth to my heart. For the first time in a long time, I smirked ever so slightly. It wasn't a forced smile, but one that seemed to well up from the bottom of my being without any warning. 

Even going this far was refreshing to me. I had no intention of turning around and running back to my home city, but even that felt as if it was enough for me. That was enough of a reason for my journey.

I was quickly brought out of my thoughts as something glimmered out of the corner of my eye. The sunlight was bouncing off of the paint of a car that was very, very slowly beginning to pull into Hammerhead. It had my full attention as I squinted towards the vehicle being pushed along by three men, the one remaining member of their quartet sat comfortably in the driver's seat.

As they reached their goal, I saw at least two of them flop to the floor out of exhaustion. I couldn't help but snigger at the over exaggerated reaction to reaching their destination. I watched them idly until my food eventually showed itself in front of me, with a small nod from Takka. It was almost as if he was trying to tell me to enjoy my food in his own, unsure way.

Even as I began to tuck into my food, I still kept my eyes on the new group of people who had come into my view as they chatted to the resident mechanic. She seemed as if she were more excited about the car in front of her than she was the people. I couldn't help but wonder if they’d just come from Insomnia themselves. 

I finished my food quickly, trying to find some reason to get myself out on the road as fast as possible. I could say that I had most certainly had enough of Hammerhead if I found myself being entertained by some poor people who had a broken down car.

A very fancy car at that, mind you.

After my plate was empty and my stomach was satisfyingly full, I scraped my chair back and headed out into the warm sunlight of the afternoon. But I still couldn't take my eyes off of the quartet who were talking amongst themselves as the car was slowly being rolled into the garage. 

I bit my lip as I squinted towards them, trying to place one face in particular that looked incredibly familiar. Though from the distance that I stood at, it was impossible to tell for sure. 

Was it weird for me to be staring at them so intensely?

With the thought that at least one of them seemed familiar gnawing away at the back of my mind, I slowly began to stroll towards them. I mostly watched them out of the corner of my eye as I pretended to peruse the tires that were piled up outside of the window of the gas station.

I tapped my finger against my bottom lip as I tried hard to think about where I knew him from. I could only hope that they weren’t casting glances my way as I looked at the car accessories for a vehicle I didn’t own.

"I'd think it wise for us to stock up on a few curatives before we set out."

One of them spoke in a strange accent that seemed incredibly out of place. 

I glanced at them again, only to see their faces slowly come into focus as they approached the store. This time I made no effort to hide my stare from them as I finally realised who one of them was. I almost wanted to smack myself in the forehead for not realising sooner.

The raven haired boy approached the door, for a few moments not realising that I was staring at him. When he did notice me, his steps slowed down. His glare matched mine as we looked at each other for a brief moment before he leant towards me slightly.

"Don't I know you?"

"Well, not really. We've met before though."

He was Noctis, the Prince of Lucis. A person who I was all too familiar with from seeing his picture in the newspapers far too often lately. I knew all about his fast approaching wedding, which perfectly explained why it was he was in Hammerhead. But I knew him from before he was such a large public figure so to speak. 

We attended the same middle school, though we'd never spoken to each other before. He probably only recognised me as I was apparently the escort to one of my friends who'd tried to talk to him on many, many occasions. He never exactly seemed receptive to her advances, almost as if he didn't appreciate the attention all too much. 

He glared at me again, squinting harder as if that would help him.

"We went to school together, didn't we?"

I nodded in response before taking a few steps back.

"Yeah. We weren't in the same class though."

I tried to wave him off. I didn't want him to feel as if he was supposed to know me particularly. He paused again as he thought, though he'd stopped leaning towards me, and had taken to rubbing his chin slightly as he thought. 

"I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."

I smiled at him, waving him off for a second time.

"We've never spoken before, so it's fine."

He paused as we awkwardly stood in silence as if he was waiting for me to say something.

"I'm Rena."

He thought again.

"It doesn't ring a bell."

"I told you, it's fine. I don't want you to feel too bad about it."

I tried to giggle to relieve them immense amount of awkwardness that hung in the air, but it seemed out of character even from an outsider's perspective.

"Rena?"

It was suddenly that a new face from behind the prince peered forward and looked at me quizzically. His blond hair was swaying slightly in the warm breeze and he looked rather surprised. 

His was a face I absolutely did not recognise. 

Or perhaps I did. 

His face was unfamiliar, yet set off a feeling of nostalgia that bubbled up from the bottom of my stomach. It was a similar feeling to the one the stranger who had handed me my wallet have given me.

"Oh, maybe you'll know Prompto?"

Noctis looked at me again as he half asked me the question. I frowned as I took a few seconds to think back on my classmates. It was only a memory that was hidden in the back of my head, very rarely brought to the forefront of my mind nowadays. It was as if all of my classmates from school had become these shadows that I couldn’t quite place.

But I certainly knew Prompto. Or, at least I knew of him. 

"You mean the blond kid who was really shy and had a camera with him all the time?"

He was famously quiet in class, a slightly overweight young boy who always found his camera to be far more interesting than his classmates. There were a couple of occasions in which I’d tried to talk to him, but the circumstances of our conversations were less than ideal. He was kind in his timid nature, and always seemed to think far too much about other people. Whether or not it was out of anxiety, or fear, I couldn’t have said. 

"That's me!"

The blond man from before pointed at his face before shooting me a dazzling smile, albeit a rather goofy one. I blinked at him before shaking my head.

"You don’t seem at all like him."

His goofy grin was unwavering as he bounced towards me happily. My words didn’t phase him in the slightest. It was then that I took note of how blue his eyes were and the freckles that dusted the bridge of his nose. They were indeed traits of my classmate from years before. It was a strange revelation as it hit me.

"You really are Prompto aren't you?"

He nodded at me, his grin never faltering. 

"You seem like a different person." My voice was slathered in a tone of disbelief as I stared at him. He didn’t seem to mind just how surprised I was, though. 

"I made some goals for myself when we were in middle school, and well, here I am!"

"You look great. Really different from the last time I saw you."

It wasn't just his body that had changed, but his whole disposition was entirely different. 

I was ashamed that I thought he actually looked kind of cute as he smiled at me. I couldn't help but stare slightly at the freckles on his cheeks that were scrunched up slightly from the way he was smiling at me. It was an entirely inappropriate moment to be thinking such things. 

As he looked at me, he frowned slightly as he studied my face.

"I saw you last winter," he said in a mumble that I only I heard as he stood up straight. My eyes widened at his sudden words, and he could tell that he’d said something that made me feel uncomfortable. 

I thought back to the winter, where I’d seen him before. And of course, it had to be him. He’d seen me at my rock bottom, and I’d desperately tried to turn him away. 

Just the thought of my life that ended a few mere hours ago made my heart ache. I looked at Prompto, my eyes glossing over against my will, and instead of giving me a concerned look, he moved the conversation on as quickly as he could. 

"I worked pretty hard on getting these muscles." He interrupted his own thought quickly as a way to try and make me feel more at ease. He flexed his arm as if he were showing me all of his hard work. There was a snigger from behind him as the man who looked like he was entirely made up of muscles began to walk towards the store. 

"You might want to try harder, squirt."

He waltzed past the prince and Prompto and into the store with complete nonchalance towards the situation at hand.

"So what brings you to Hammerhead?" Prompto asked me as he relaxed his arm, quickly trying to take attention away from his comrades words.

"Oh, I'm moving away from Insomnia. I'm making my way to Lestallum at the minute. I just, uh, haven't gotten very far yet."

"How come you're moving away from the capital?"

Noctis was suddenly invested in the conversation once more.

"I just wanted a fresh start, I suppose. That and Insomnia can be kind of overwhelming sometimes... no offense of course."

It felt strange as I tried to explain myself to the crown prince as to why I was bailing on the jewel of Lucis. He shook his head and shrugged slightly.

"It's more of my father's city than it is my own."

"How were you planning to get there exactly?" Prompto asked, eager to be involved in the conversation once more. 

I shrugged as my only response. 

"Are you gonna be okay? The road can be pretty dangerous."

"I'll be fine. Probably."

I smiled to reassure them that I was only slightly joking.

"I'd offer you a ride if I could, but we have places to be." Prompto lifted his arms behind his head and stretched out his muscles. I could tell he was dying to tell me what it was that he was so busy with. I, of course, already had a good idea that they were on their way to Noctis’ wedding.

"We don't have a car right now, Prompto," Noctis mumbled as he elbowed his friend in the side.

His reality looked as if it crumbled right before him.

"Oh. Right."

"You have only yourself to blame." The final member of their quartet finally piped up, and I could tell that he was the source of that strange accent that I'd heard before.

"I'm Ignis by the way, since neither of these two seem to want to introduce me. Our other companion is Gladiolus. Though I'm sure he'd be fine with you calling him Gladio."

He offered his hand to me and I quickly took it in my own and shook it lightly. 

"Oh. I'm Rena. It's nice to meet you."

With our introductions out of the way, he stepped back and bowed slightly.

"I hate to pull you away, but we have places to be, like you said," Ignis said as he began to make his way to the store entrance. 

"Oh, yeah. Of course. I'm sorry to stop you," I mumbled quietly as I gave them all a slight wave as they entered the store. Prompto was the only one who didn’t move, seemingly unsure of what it was that he wanted to do.

"It was nice to see you again, Prompto."

I offered him a friendly smile as a way to say goodbye to him. I didn't want to intrude in any kind of fashion, though I was curious about exactly what had changed him so much.

Just seeing him again was enough for me though. 

I'd had my thoughts of him from time to time, and I wondered what happened to him and if he was okay. His life had certainly changed a lot throughout the years that I hadn't seen him. It was a comforting thought, and it left me feeling content. 

Perhaps a complete change was a possibility if I put my mind to it. 

"Oh, uh, yeah. It was nice to see you again too. Maybe if we ever make a stop in Lestallum, you could give us a tour."

He was, indeed, much more confidant than I remembered.

"Sure. Though that would require me to start making my way there sometime soon."

He giggled slightly before he pulled his phone out of his pocket and began tapping away at the screen.

"We should exchange numbers, just incase."

"Just incase I make it there?"

Again, he laughed as he focused on his phone. I pulled my own out of my back pocket, though it was something that I hardly ever used. I didn't have anyone that I particularly wanted to keep in contact with. 

"I don't know how to find my number..."

I found myself scrolling through menus and more menus that became increasingly less like what it was I was looking for.

He came to stand beside me as he looked over my shoulder at the screen in my hands. He pointed a few times, navigating me through the dozens of menus until we eventually managed to find the information he was after. 

I managed to figure out how to put him as a contact on my phone, and smiled to myself. What a strange feeling, to have 'Prompto Argentum' in my contact list. 

"Are you sure you even know how to use a phone?"

His voice was thick with sarcasm as he shot me a smug look, and I nudged him with my shoulder.

"Shut up. I'm not afraid to block your number."

"I bet you couldn't figure out how to do it," he teased.

I looked at the new contact that was fresh in my address book before hovering my thumb over it and tapping through a few options.

"I found it!"

I presented the screen to him that had the words "Do you want to block this contact?" glowing from the screen. 

"Okay, okay. I'll stop, just don't block me!"

He seemed panicked for a moment before a snigger escaped from my throat.

"I'm kidding, Prompto. I'm not completely tech illiterate. Only slightly."

He chuckled slightly as he tucked his phone away in his pocket and he let out a small sigh. 

"So it really was you," he said suddenly, and I felt my eyebrows knit together as I tore my attention away from my phone. "Last winter. I thought it was you."

"I, uh, yeah. It was," I managed to stutter out. "I was in a bad place. Sorry about that." I couldn't help but nervously chew on my bottom lip as he looked at me. 

"You in a better place now?"

"I'm working on it."

He shot me a kind smile before he gently pat me on the back, as if he were encouraging me.

"I'm sure you can figure things out by yourself, but if you ever want a few pointers on improving your life, you can shoot me a text. I mean, look at me, I clearly know a thing or two about it."

As he spoke, his smile never faltered. I wondered if there had ever been a time where I’d seen him smile so genuinely before, but nothing came to mind. He nodded to himself as he stretched out his muscles again.

"I'm good now," he reaffirmed to himself as he slowly began to walk towards the store and away from me. "If you're here in a day or two we might even get to see you again before you start making your way to Lestallum."

"Is that a promise or a warning?"

He laughed again before shrugging.

"I'll leave it up to you."

I couldn't help but smirk at him as he finally turned on his heel and almost skipped into the store to meet up with his friends again. With the smirk firmly planted on my lips, I sighed and turned around to the trailer.

I had every intention of moving on from Hammerhead as fast as I could, but the idea of seeing Prompto again before I left gave me a strange feeling. Perhaps excitement, but I couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was that I felt. 

Lestallum was always my end goal. That much wouldn't change. I had an apartment waiting for me, and my new life would really begin once I arrived.

But even as I thought that, I couldn't help but think that staying in Hammerhead for a few days to see him again wouldn't be such a terrible idea. I couldn't have said why the idea cemented itself in my head. However, it was as if the decision was already made. Why was it that I was so happy at the promise of potentially seeing him again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I'm going to try and keep posting this as regularly as I can, so I hope you're enjoying it thus far!


	3. Chapter 3

My mind had been made up rather quickly when it came to the subject of hanging around for a few days to see Prompto again. I didn't have work waiting for me, just endless hours of searching for a job. I could say that I'd had enough of Hammerhead. I'd absolutely had enough of eating chili con carne at Takka's diner. And the view of the barren landscape that surrounded Hammerhead that amazed me at first quickly became rather dull. Regardless, as I waited for them to return, the trailer became somewhat more comfortable.

I'd unpacked the few scant things that I still owned so that I wouldn’t have to dig through my bag every time I wanted a set of clean clothes. I'd even gone as far as to buy myself a new quilt that I’d been eyeing up in the local store to help pad the mattress a little bit. I could take it with me to my new home, so it wasn't a complete waste of money, but it was a purchase that could have waited. I had no intention of living the rest of my life out in a trailer that was just a stone's throw from the city that I'd longed to get away from, but I took no time in making the trailer feel like my new home.

It was two days later that, as promised, Prompto and his friends suddenly appeared on the horizon, slowly making their way towards the garage. It was almost certainly to pick up the car that they'd left behind, but the sudden appearance of them made my heart jump up into my throat.

Nerves, perhaps?

I'd told myself over and over again that I wanted to see Prompto again because I was so interested in what had made him change so much. I was desperate for that kind of change, and the more I thought about him, the more he became this embodiment of hope.

But really, I felt like I had a lot to apologise for.

As I saw them approaching Hammerhead, I took up the most casual pose that I could manage as I threw myself into the uncomfortable patio furniture outside of the trailer. I pulled my phone out and started scrolling through some apps that I'd downloaded before I left Insomnia. I'd never touched them before, but I was hoping that something would take my attention away from the quartet that were slowly coming to a halt outside of Cidney's garage. King's Knight looked okay, I supposed. I tapped on the screen to open the app and was greeted with blaring music that almost made me drop my phone out of surprise. I quickly tapped the volume button on the side of my phone, feeling flustered with the whole experience already. Regardless, I gave my attention to the screen that I could barely see through the blaring sunlight.

I liked video games enough, but over the next few minutes as I made my way through the tutorial, I found myself struggling to get the movements quite right. I glanced up, as I finished the first tutorial to see where Prompto had gotten to. He was stood with his friends, outside of the garage still. But it looked as if they'd recovered their car at the very least. I sighed, assuming that they'd be on their merry way rather quickly.

Turning my attention back to the game, I started to play once more. But all the while in the back of my mind I found myself assaulting my stupidity at hanging around for no real reason. Of course they'd be on their way as quickly as possible. They had more important things to do than hang around Hammerhead. My internal words aimed at myself were harsh, and I couldn't help but wonder where they'd come from.

"You still haven't quite gotten to Lestallum yet, then?"

I almost jumped out of my own skin as a familiar voice drew me out of my own mind. I looked up to see Prompto smiling happily at me, not noticing just how much his voice had startled me.

"Uhm, I suppose I'm still here."

Without asking, he plopped himself down in the seat opposite me and leant over the table.

"Don't you have like, things to do there?"

"Not really. I have an apartment that I need to pick up my keys for, but that’s not an urgent thing, I don’t think."

"So you aren’t moving there with a job in mind?" he asked, resting his head in his hand.

"No. I’d heard a lot about how Lestallum was a place that thrived because of the women there and I just needed to start fresh, I suppose."

He nodded, as if he understood before smiling.

"Yeah, a fresh start can be a really good thing, I think," he said with an assuredness in his voice that almost immediately set my heart at ease.

"It seems like it did you wonders. You’re travelling around with a prince now, which I never would have suspected from you when we were in middle school together." I let out a slight giggle at the thought of it. The Prompto I knew was shy. Painfully so. He never seemed like the kind of person to approach royalty, let alone befriend it.

"I know. I may look pretty different on the outside, but I’m still a loser who loves taking photographs at heart," he said in a joking voice, but there was a hint of melancholy behind his words.

"I never thought you were a loser," I admitted, trying to reassure him.

"Yeah, you gave me that impression at school." He looked up as he spoke, an almost wistful look on his face as he remembered his past self. "It's weird how much things can change, don't you think?"

I nodded, my mouth twisting into a wry smile.

"I thought things would turn out a lot different than they did," I said, trying to suppress a sad sigh.

"I don’t want to pry too much, but how come you’re so different than you were in school?"

"It's a long story," I said as I tucked my phone away in my pocket. "But let's just say, things didn't turn out like I hoped they would, and I started to feel really lonely."

His face contorted into a nervous smile and he let out a small, sad sounding laugh.

"That... wasn't my fault, was it?"

"No," I insisted as I shook my head adamantly. "But we don't have to talk about school. I’m glad to be away from there. But there was something I did want to talk to you about."

"You could have just text me, you didn't have to hang around for me," he said, shaking off the nervous smile and giving me his full attention.

"Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you in person."

"Well, I'm all ears," he said, resting his face in his hands and leaning forward.

"I just wanted to apologise to you."

"What for?"

"I guess I feel guilty that I didn't try harder to get to know you in school. You always seemed so lonely, and I wanted you to have a friend. I feel especially guilty about it now, knowing what it's like to feel so lonely."

"You know, you shouldn’t feel guilty about that. I turned out okay, right?"

"I guess I can’t help it."

"You should stop guessing at your own feelings, y'know?"

"It's hard. Feelings are complicated."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that myself. But you should try it."

The way that he was staring at me so intently made me feel nervous. His bright blue eyes felt as if they were piercing my skin and looking into the very bottom of my weary heart. It was as if he was looking at all of my secrets, and it scared me.

"I could try."

He nodded, as if he was satisfied with my answer before he leant back in the chair and stretched out his muscles. He stretched so much that the hem of his shirt rode up ever so slightly to show off a small patch of skin on his stomach. The moment he realised, he was quick to grab the bottom of his shirt and yank it back down harshly.

"Thanks for sticking around to talk to me though. I don’t know if it's helped you feel any better at all." He shot another one of his dazzling, goofy grins at me, accompanied by a light laugh.

"Hm, I'm not sure. But it was fun seeing you again," I said with a genuine smile. He somehow managed to drag a feeling of happiness out of me with that grin, and I really felt as if I were more at ease around him.

"So, I’ll take it the trailer is taken?" A gruff voice suddenly interrupted our conversation. I looked up to see the man from before who seemed to be more muscle than anything else, his arms covered in detailed tattoos. Behind him stood the sleepy looking prince, and Ignis.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't want to be in the way," I said, wondering if there was somewhere else I could stay for the night. I didn't even consider that they might want to use the trailer.

"It's fine. There's a campsite not too far from here," he said with a grin, only to garner a groan from both Noctis and Prompto.

"But I'm so tired," Noctis complained as he yawned for extra effect.

"I could go to the campsite," I offered. I'd never made a huge deal out of Noctis when we were in school together, but I'd happily go out of my way to make sure I didn't make an enemy out of him. And from the exhausted look on his face, it didn't feel as if it would take a lot to become the person he hated the most.

"Do you even have any camping gear?" Ignis piped up as he fidgeted with the sleeves of his jacket. I had to wonder how he could stand the heat of Hammerhead in such attire.

"Well, no. But I really don’t want to get in the way."

"It's fine. We aren't gonna kick you out," Prompto laughed as he waved his hand. He didn't seem to feel too enthusiastic about camping, but his words at least slightly sated the panic that was bubbling up in my chest.

"We could always bunk up together," the man said with a wink, and I wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or not.

"Uhm, I don't even remember your name. We should probably start with that," I laughed.

"Gladio. I know exactly who you are. Prompto wouldn't shut up about you while we were out taking care of business. And if he wasn't talking about you, he was talking about the cute mechanic."

" _Gladio_ ," Prompto hissed at him in a complaining whisper. I had the feeling that Prompto would have rather he talked about _anything_ else.

I couldn't help but shoot Prompto a raised eyebrow, curious about what he'd said. He ignored my look as he buried his head in his hand.

"Camping will be fine," Ignis said to bring the conversation back onto the topic at hand. “Even if she were to accept that... offer, I suppose it would be quite cramped in there with the five of us."

Noctis let out another long groan. I could tell that he really had no desire to move much further than he absolutely had to. I felt a little sorry for the prince in that moment. I knew what it was like to be exhausted and the feeling of just wanting to curl up in bed and not move for several hours. 

"You can stay here. It’s fine," I finally said, much to the surprise of the four men surrounding me. "I get the bed though."

"Seems fair," Gladio said, not questioning my sudden decision.

"As long as you’re okay with it, I suppose," Ignis said, a little less convinced by my motives.

"I'm going to sleep," Noctis yawned.

Without another word, he let himself into the trailer, and closed the door behind him. There was no point in even trying to argue the decision at that moment. Noctis was going to sleep, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

I was surprised, however. He was so quick to enter the trailer that he didn’t leave any room for argument, but the sun hadn’t even set. It was beginning to make it’s way down towards the mountains, but it hadn’t quite managed it yet.

"So, I suppose we should get some food and leave his majesty to sleep for a while," Gladio said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"C'mon, we'll treat you."

Similar to the prince, he began to walk to the diner, leaving no room for discussion. Free food sounded like quite the treat though, so I hauled myself out of the uncomfortable chair and stretched my muscles out.

"Hey," Prompto caught my attention before I started to walk away. "Are you sure you’re okay with this?"

I shrugged. I really didn’t see that it was a huge deal.

"I mean, I’d feel bad turning you guys away when he looked so tired."

"He's always like that," Prompto chuckled as we started to make our way to the diner.

He fell into step beside me, and he seemed rather pleased with how the day had turned out. He must have been really happy to not be subjected to another night of camping. I couldn't exactly blame him.


	4. Chapter 4

We spent far too much time in Takka’s diner. What started as an innocent meal, turned into the suggestion of having a couple of drinks to celebrate a job well done on their excursion. Those couple of drinks turned into us staggering out of the diner many hours later, into the darkness of Hammerhead. 

Regardless of how much I’d drank in the past, I was still somewhat of a lightweight. I was thankful, in a way, because it made my evenings out on the town much cheaper. And with a few alcoholic beverages now swirling around in my system, I felt a lot more at ease. I didn’t feel nervous about being around people I didn’t know, I just felt so much more content. 

The feeling itself was as if I was playing with fire. 

“We should play a game!” Prompto suddenly yelped as we approached the trailer. I could tell he was just as much of a lightweight as I was when it came to drinking. 

“I’m going to get more drinks,” Gladio said as he stopped and pointed towards the store. Although he seemed as if the drinks were starting to get to him, he’d managed to maintain his composure for the most part.

“Please, do be aware that we’re leaving early tomorrow, you two,” Ignis sighed. He was like the designated driver of the group. Although he’d had a couple of drinks - one too many to even consider driving anywhere - he still looked as dignified as he always seemed.

“It’s fine, right?” Prompto drawled as he slung one of his arms around Ignis’ shoulders. “It’s just for tonight, and we’re celebrating!” 

“As long as you don’t complain too much in the morning,” Ignis replied, sounding almost defeated. 

“And we can even call it a joint celebration for our reunion, right?” Prompto said as he shot me another grin, a mischievous laugh following behind. 

“You’ve already convinced me, Prompto,” Ignis said as he shook off his arm. He thought for a moment before continuing his thoughts. “Besides, it should improve our morale for the rest of the trip.”

“Seems like you need it after your car broke down,” I agreed with a firm nod.

“Broken down is one way to put it,” Ignis said as he shot a look to Prompto who quickly changed the conversation.

“I think I have some playing cards in my bag!” 

“I’ll get them. I don’t want you anywhere near the Regalia in your state,” Ignis said, sighing again as he turned and made his way towards the car that was still parked just outside of the garage. 

It was only then that Prompto turned to me, still beaming as if he were the happiest man alive. 

“We should get a photo together!” 

“I thought you only ever took pictures of animals,” I said, tilting my head to the side.

“While I won’t deny that animals are adorable, I have expanded my horizons!” he exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly. He quickly pulled his camera out and beckoned me towards him. “Come and have a look.”

I made my way to his side and looked over as he flicked through the many photographs he’d already saved along their journey. They were very different to the ones he’d taken in school. They either consisted of selfies that he’d taken with Noct, or these shots of his friends in the midst of battle. I wished that I could have seen what Prompto looked like in that situation. Gladio, Ignis and even Noctis looked ridiculously awesome in the photographs that he’d saved. 

“Cool, right?” he asked as he took his attention away from the camera and looked at me.

“Right. Really cool,” I agreed. “Maybe not as cute as cats, though.” He pouted slightly.

“You’re saying that I’m not as cute as a cat?” He flicked back to a picture of him and Noct and showed me again. “C’mon!”

I knew he was trying to get a compliment out of me, but I couldn’t help but tease him a little bit. 

“Yeah, I suppose Noctis is quite cute in this photo,” I mused, trying desperately to hide the smirk that was pulling at my lips. 

“You’re mean,” he said, pouting again. 

“Fine. You’re cute. Like a chocobo,” I said, grinning at him, and his face began to adorn a light pink blush that could have easily been caused by the alcohol coursing through his veins. 

It was then that there was a loud, boisterous laugh from behind us. I span around quickly to see Gladio cradling a brown paper bag in one of his arms. 

“Maybe you should tell that to Cidney. The kid could use all the help he can get on that front,” he said loudly, ruffling Prompto’s hair as he approached us. He quickly plopped the bag down on the table and collapsed into one of the chairs, motioning for us to sit down. We obliged, but I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Prompto.

“Got a crush?” I asked, and he tried his best to wave off the thought. It didn’t stop Gladio from speaking on his behalf.

“Prompto here gets a crush on every woman he lays eyes on, I swear.”

“Will you stop it?” Prompto whined.

“Hey, we have a woman amongst us and you don’t seem to be a complete mess around her. Maybe she can give you some advice,” Gladio suggested as Ignis finally made it back to the three of us, throwing the packet of cards down on the table beside the bag. He didn’t say anything, instead he gracefully perched himself in one of the free chairs and quietly listened to the conversation.

“I don’t know that I have any great advice when it comes to dating,” I sighed, scratching the back of my neck.

“Well, what do you think to Cidney?” Gladio asked, which earned him a light punch in the arm from Prompto. 

“Gladio,  _ please _ .” He was almost begging for the man to stop talking. 

“I don’t know. She’s a bit too... female for my tastes.”

“Well, what do you look for in a guy?”

“Isn’t that a bit of a shift in topic?” I asked as I rested back in my chair.

“Just curious. Are you as hopeless as Prompto, here?”

“Yep. Completely hopeless. I have no idea,” I said, suddenly feeling like I wanted to move the conversation along just as much as Prompto did. 

Gladio raised an eyebrow at me, almost as if he didn’t buy what I was saying. Though his expression seemed laced in curiosity about how true my words actually were. Prompto quickly reached across the table for the packet of playing cards and he held them up.

“Shall we play a game?” he asked, quick to take the brief gap in conversation to move it along as quickly as possible. 

So we did. We played a few games of Go Fish, a few games of Old Maid, and Gladio brought out the drinks he’d purchased from the paper bag. I wasn’t usually the type of person to drink beer, but when he offered me one, I couldn’t really decline the free drink. 

As the hours ticked on, we became more and more rowdy. We were becoming comically outraged at the results of our games, and even Ignis was beginning to lose his air of elegance as he drank more. 

It was just after midnight that there were sounds from within the trailer. We all paused in place as we listened to the footsteps that made their way to the door, only for a bleary eyed Noctis to poke his head out from the door and glare at us.

“Why are you so  _ loud _ ?”

“Noct! You should join us for a bit!” Prompto exclaimed excitedly at the appearance of his best friend. He beckoned him over to the empty chair between him and Gladio. With a sigh, Noctis nodded and pulled himself out of the trailer.

“It’s not like I’m going to get any sleep with that noise anyway.” He almost flung himself into the open seat, and looked around the table at the four of us. “Just how much have you guys had to drink?”

“We saved some for you, don’t worry,” Gladio laughed as he reached into the bag to pull out yet another glass bottle. He handed it to Noctis, who peered at the bottle cautiously.

“Try not to overdo it. It would be unbecoming if someone saw the prince blind drunk at a service station,” Ignis offered.

“As if the trailer wasn’t already unbecoming of a prince,” Prompto giggled as he lifted the camera up and began to snap a few pictures of the group. Noctis tried to swat the camera away as he handed the bottle back to Gladio, giving him the silent instruction to open it for him. 

“I think we need a change up in games,” Gladio said as he worked at the bottlecap. Impressively, he managed to twist it off in one quick motion before handing the bottle back to his friend.

“How about truth or dare?” Prompto suggested, a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Right! Let’s do that!” Gladio agreed. The more he drank, the more loud he became. He seemed to laugh a lot more too. He reached into the paper bag once more to bring out another bottle, but this time, it wasn’t beer. It was this strange looking lucid green liquid, the label suggesting it was apple flavoured. “How about, if you refuse to answer a question or do a dare, you have to do a shot of this?”

So this was the kind of person Gladio was when he was drinking. 

Ignis let out another long sigh of disapproval, but the rest of us nodded in agreement. Prompto quickly hopped out of his chair and moved towards the trailer before he turned to me.

“Do you have glasses in here?”

“Above the oven,” I answered with a smile. I was strangely excited at the prospect of the green liquid. He was quick to grab all of the glasses that he could carry before he placed them down on the table carefully, his hands unsteady from the amount that he’d already drunk. He placed himself back in the chair next to me, and shot me a smile.

“I think we should get to know a little bit more about our new friend here,” Gladio said, leaning over the table towards me.

“You don’t know that I’m going to pick truth yet.”

“Truth or dare, then?”

I paused. I was a complete coward when it came to this game.

“Truth.”

My answer pulled a chuckle from Noctis, almost as if he could tell that there was no way I was going to be the first one to pick dare when I had no idea of what they were capable of conjuring up. 

“So, what’s your type?” Gladio asked with a grin spreading across his face. 

“Not this again,” I sighed. He tapped on the bottle at me, almost as if he was taunting me. “I dunno, not an asshole? Is that a type?”

“So I guess that means Gladio’s out,” Noctis mumbled, which pulled a venomous glare from Gladio. 

“You may be the prince, but I am not afraid to kick your ass,” Gladio growled at him. Noctis seemed unphased by his words, and pointed towards him, looking at me. 

“See? I even proved it.” I tried my hardest to suppress a laugh that was bubbling up from the pit of my stomach. 

“I don’t know about that answer,” Ignis said, pulling the attention to him. “It almost seems like you’re trying to avoid answering properly.”

Why was Ignis, of all people, suddenly interested in my answer?

“But I genuinely don’t know!” I shouted defensively. 

“You could just make something up,” Noctis suggested.

“How about an intellectual, yet muscular prince who happens to love photography? Does that please you?” I joked, causing a few chuckles around the table. 

“You are  _ so  _ taking a drink,” Prompto giggled.  

“I’m not complaining,” I said as I took one of the glasses from the table and pushed it towards Gladio. He didn’t argue as he poured me a drink that was much more than a shot should have been. I shrugged, and knocked the drink back in one smooth motion. As the taste settled on my tongue, I couldn’t help but pull a face. “It’s so sour,” I complained with a raspy voice, which garnered more laughs. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant after the initial shock of the sourness had settled down. “Okay, Prompto. Your turn.”

“Hmm,” he thought on his answer for a few seconds. “Truth, I think.”

“Who do you prefer, her, or Cidney?” Gladio asked quickly, gesturing to me. 

“I meant dare.”

“Too late. Fess up.”

With a sigh, he pushed a glass towards Gladio, showing he was refusing to answer.

“That’s hardly a fair question, Gladio,” Noctis piped up. “You’re either forcing him to confess something that he doesn’t want to, or you’re gonna hurt her feelings.”

“That’s the point,” I heard Gladio whisper towards him, far too loudly. He poured the drink for Prompto and pushed the glass towards him. With a sigh, Prompto tried to take his drink in one go, but the moment that the liquid entered his mouth, he recoiled slightly, and tried not to sputter it everywhere as he coughed. After a moment of composing himself, he swallowed the mouthful of drink and let out a noise of disgust. 

“You weren’t joking when you said it was sour.”

“Drink it up, Romeo,” I teased as I watched him. With another long sigh, he obliged and finished up the remnants of his drink. 

“Truth or dare, Noct?” Prompto finally asked once the taste had died down enough.

“I’m not stupid enough to pick dare,” he snorted. “Truth.”

“So, are you looking forward to marrying Lady Lunafreya?” Prompto asked, his trademark grin spreading across his face. 

“You guys are unfair. I just stuck up for you,” Noctis complained. A silence fell around the four of them as they waited for Noctis’ answer. “Yeah, I am.” I couldn’t help but let a little ‘awh’ as he blushed slightly. I thought that the sentiment behind his words was genuinely adorable. But I could tell that he really, really did not appreciate the attention he was getting from his friends at that moment. 

“Can I change my answer to my question earlier? If I could find a guy that liked me enough to act like that, they would totally be my type,” I said in a slightly joking tone. It was enough to turn Prompto and Gladio in my direction, to which Noctis gave me a slight nod of thanks. “Anyway, Gladio, it’s your turn. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

We all thought for a moment on a question we could ask him. We all came up completely blank, and the eyes of the three other men fell onto me. 

“I don’t know. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done while you’ve been drunk?”

They all nodded, as if they approved of the question, before we turned to Gladio who seemed to be lost in thought. He smirked to himself eventually before twisting the top to the bottle. 

“A gentleman never tells,” he said as he sent me a wink that would have made anyone blush. I was ashamed as I felt heat rise up in my cheeks, and I turned my head away from Prompto. He was the last person I wanted to see me blush at Gladio’s words.

“You’re such a pervert,” I heard Noctis sigh from his seat. He sounded as if he was already fed up of this game, and I didn’t blame him. “Ignis?”

“Dare.”

All of our eyes widened in awe at his bravery. 

“Eat a cup noodle,” Gladio suggested immediately, entirely serious.

“What?” I couldn’t help but ask. It was such a strange request. 

“Ignis is too much of a chef to give them a try,” Prompto whispered to me, rolling his eyes slightly. It was then that he frowned slightly at my face, and tilted his head. “Are you blushing?”

“Shut up,” I hissed back to him in a whisper. 

“Absolutely not,” Ignis finally said in response to the dare. 

“Chicken,” Gladio mumbled as he poured out yet another drink. 

“But you’ve eaten them before, Ignis,” Noctis interjected, leaning forward. “Or was that a one time thing?”

“I’d gladly eat them at any other point, but we ate enough earlier and I’m not about to waste supplies for our journey.”

“He’s so responsible,” I said in a tone that was dripping in admiration. 

“Oh, so maybe Iggy’s your type then?” Gladio asked with a grin on his face.

“ _ Iggy? _ Really?” I couldn’t help but snigger at his nickname because it seemed so unfitting for his type. It was only then that I registered what Gladio had said, and I shot him a glare. “And stop going on about that.”

“Alright, alright. Fine. It’s your turn again,” Gladio sighed. It seemed like he’d finally admitted defeat when it came to the subject, but I knew that it was entirely possible that he’d bring it up again. 

“Dare,” I said firmly, wanting to avoid him prying into my love life any further. They thought on it for a few seconds before Prompto piped up with his idea.

“How about we make you a drink? We each put something in it, and you have to drink it, no matter what it is?”

“Fine, but nothing gross. Don’t pee in my drink,” I warned them with a glare. It earned a laugh from each of them, almost as if they were saying they’d never do something like that. I didn’t know them well enough to trust them on that front. 

Once I’d agreed, they each stood up and walked towards the store that was open around the clock, no matter the hour, leaving me on my own for a few brief moments. Instead of dreading the punishment my tastebuds were about to receive, I looked up at the sky and let out a content sigh.

It was only then that I noticed just how many stars were littered across the blank canvas of the night. It was rare that I saw any stars at all in Insomnia, and it had taken until that moment to even look for them. It occurred to me that in that moment, as I looked up at the stars, that I felt happy. 

I couldn’t say how long it had been since I’d felt that way. But I felt at ease around these four men, most of whom I’d never really met before. Was that what it was like to not feel so painfully lonely?

I was quickly pulled out of my thoughts as Prompto arrived back at the table first, a bottle of Jetty’s in his hand. He placed it on the table and shot me a smile, as he always seemed to. 

“I thought I’d go easy on you. It seems like they’ll be scheming on how to make you regret your choice for a couple more minutes,” he laughed, pulling out his camera again. “You mind if we get that picture I was talking about earlier?” he asked. 

Immediately I began fussing with my hair. The humidity had made it somewhat frizzy, and I wasn’t entirely convinced that my eyeliner had stayed in place enough to get a good picture. 

“Do I look good enough for a picture?” I asked nervously, as I wiped at my face. He took a second to look at me, and it felt like the longest second of my life as he studied my features quickly.

“Yep,” he simply replied. 

“Is that all?” I asked, half disappointed by his response. 

“What else am I supposed to say?” he questioned.

“I don’t know. Compliment me or something. Say that you think I look cute or whatever,” I pouted. 

“Hey, I didn’t get my compliment earlier,” he giggled. It was only then that I realised that he was trying to tease me. I gave him an unimpressed look, but finally gave out a hefty sigh of defeat. I inched my chair slightly closer to his so that we could get close enough for the photo, and he took no time in wrapping his arm around my shoulder to pull me in just that little bit more. 

In my drunken state, I decided to go for the stupidest pose I possibly could, winking at the camera, my tongue slightly poking out of the corner of my mouth. I knew it would look ridiculous, but I’d hoped it would negate the fact that I didn’t look my best at that moment.

He took the photo quickly before lowering the camera to look at his handiwork, his arm moving from around my shoulder. I leant towards the camera and squinted slightly to try and bring the picture into focus. 

It was surprisingly cute. Prompto was beaming as he always did, and whatever I’d done to contort my face certainly helped. 

“Hey, this is pretty good,” I mumbled in a surprised tone.

“Yeah, we look pretty good considering the circumstances,” he giggled again. “I think this is a keeper for sure.”

“Is there a way that I can get a copy of it sometime?” I asked. He nodded at me happily, seemingly proud that his selfie skills had managed to impress me somewhat. At that moment, the others appeared and retook their seats. 

With mischievous looks on their faces, they took the one remaining glass and began to pour all kinds of different liquids into it. It started with the Jetty’s, followed by one of the remaining beers from earlier. Then the contents of a tiny bottle of wine were tipped in, along with a clear liquid, which I could only assume was vodka. 

The foggy brown liquid was then finished off with a shot of the sour drink from earlier. 

Just the idea of ingesting it was enough to make me gag, but I wasn’t about to back down from a challenge.

“How much do I have to drink?”

“All of it, obviously,” Prompto laughed. 

“Kinda harsh,” I mumbled as I took the drink in my hands. “Well, cheers, I guess,” I said as I brought the glass to my lips and began to chug away. The clear liquid was definitely vodka. That much I could tell the minute my tastebuds were assaulted. I took large gulps of it, with my eyes screwed shut, just hoping that I was getting towards the end of my newfound misery. 

“Stop! Stop, oh my god,” Prompto finally exclaimed as I was about halfway through the drink. “I was joking.”

I let out a long breath as I finished the remaining mouthful, thankful that the experience was over. 

“That. Was. Disgusting.”

“I guess that means Prompto has to finish it, right?” Noctis sniggered. 

“Wait, what rule is this?” Prompto questioned desperately. 

“I’m the prince, I make the rules. You finish it. We spent a lot of gil on making that... concoction.”

“You’re kidding, right?” he pleaded with his friend, who simply shook his head in response. He looked as if his world had crumbled right then and there. I felt sorry for him.

“I can keep going,” I insisted, reaching out for the drink again, only to have it snatched out of my grasp. I looked up at Prompto who had the glass hovering close to his lips, and I couldn’t help but watch him silently as he prepared himself for the drink. “I can do it if you don’t want to.”

“I got this,” he said sternly before he screwed his eyes shut and began to chug at the drink. He managed about two mouthfuls before he slammed the glass back down on the table and pulled a face that didn’t quite get across just how disgusting the cocktail really was. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

With a sigh, I took the drink out of his hands and gave it another attempt. It was potentially more disgusting the second time around. I gulped back the drink until it was finally finished. I couldn’t help but curl up in my chair once it was done. My stomach ached. 

“That was a terrible idea,” Prompto whined as he lay his head on the table.

“I take it you’re going to say truth then, Prompto?” Ignis teased slightly, earning him a glare.

“Fine.”

“Have you ever thrown up from drinking too much?” Noctis asked through a chuckle.

“No. But I feel like that’s going to change in about five minutes.”

Luckily, no one threw up throughout the rest of the night. We managed a few more rounds before we decided to call it a night, and headed into the trailer. It was, indeed, far too small for five people.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, I was awoken by an alarm going off from someone’s phone. There was a chorus of groans as we all inched our eyes open. It felt as if the sunlight was enough to burn my eyes right out of their sockets, and my head pounded unforgivingly. 

“Ugh, can we snooze it for like, a couple more hours?” I heard Noctis whine from the other end of the trailer. 

Ignis was up quickly, as if he was completely unaffected from the previous night. Gladio was quick to follow, and I couldn’t help but glare at them for not sharing in my suffering. Prompto was the next one to pull himself off of the floor, although he wobbled slightly as he balanced himself and clung to his head. Noctis didn’t show any signs of moving until Gladio gave him a light kick. 

With a groan, I pulled myself up off of the mattress and wiped at my eyes. I’d fully intended to leave Hammerhead as soon as I’d talked to Prompto, but there was no way I was moving until I’d had a glass of water and a couple of painkillers.

“We should get something to eat before we leave,” Gladio suggested, which garnered a groan from Prompto, who’d taken to leaning on the wall.

“I don’t want to eat ever again,” he complained. I nodded, showing that I understood exactly how he felt. 

“Well, I’ll be in the diner if any of you want to join me,” Gladio offered with a wave as he exited the caravan, followed by Ignis and Noctis. Prompto stayed leaning against the thin wall of the trailer, clutching his stomach. 

I forced myself out from under the covers of the bed and curled up as much as I could before offering the foot of the bed to him silently. He almost collapsed into the mattress as he closed his eyes. 

“That dare was such a mistake. I’m so sorry. I thought the Jetty’s would make it better, but it was so, so much worse.”

“At least you’re suffering just as much as I am.”

It was a few minutes of us sitting in silence before Ignis reappeared with two bottles of water and a container of painkillers. He handed them to each of us with a small smile. I was endlessly grateful that he was so responsible. 

“I’ll give you a couple of hours to recover, but we really have to start making our way to Galdin Quay soon,” he offered to Prompto. He could only murmur a small and quiet thanks to him as he began to twist the cap off of his water and drink as much as he could in one breath. 

With that out of the way, Ignis left yet again, leaving myself and Prompto on our own. We didn’t have too much to say to each other that wouldn’t be entirely consistent of complaints, so we sat in a silence that was only made uncomfortable by the hangovers that we were trying to deal with. 

“You know, you could always come with us,” he eventually suggested, and I shot him a surprised look.

“On your boys only roadtrip?”

“Why not? I mean, you seem to get on with everyone, and it’d feel kind of sad to leave you behind.”

“It’s not part of my plan, I’m afraid. I have an apartment waiting for me,” I reminded him. He let out a heavy sigh at my words, but nodded in understanding. 

“I had a lot of fun last night,” he said as he tried to prop himself up against the wall, but eventually he slid back down slightly. I forced myself up to grope for the painkillers, and I quickly popped two in my mouth before washing them down with the water from Ignis. I settled myself beside Prompto, leaning against the wall, mimicking his position. 

“Me too. I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun,” I agreed, giving him a weak smile. “Thanks for humouring me.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m glad to see you again, to be honest. I’ve been thinking about you a lot since I saw you last winter, so it’s kind of a relief to see that you’re okay.”

“Well, I’m still working on it. Remember?”

“Yeah. I think you’ll be fine once you get to Lestallum.”

“You’d better come and visit me once the wedding’s over,” I threatened in a joking tone. He chuckled slightly, and closed his eyes again. 

“Yeah, of course.”

I closed my eyes, copying him once more, and the pull of a few extra minutes of sleep was far too much for me to resist. 

The only thing that brought me out of my comfortable slumber was the door to the trailer opening and footsteps that seemed to stop in front of me. I inched my eyes open slightly to see Gladio stood over me, looking at me with an amused look. 

I felt confused for a few seconds before I’d realised that I’d slumped over in my sleep, and my head was rested on Prompto’s shoulder. I slowly turned my head to look at him. He was bright red, and biting on his lip as if he didn’t want to move even slightly. I jumped away from him as soon as I had a grasp on the situation at hand. 

“I’m so sorry!” I spluttered as I balled myself up in the corner of the bed.

“I-it’s fine,” he stuttered in response, trying to brush it off. 

“I’m sure he didn’t mind all that much,” Gladio laughed, rubbing Prompto’s hair roughly. 

“You never stop, do you?” Prompto whined, swatting him away. “And my head hurts, so stop it.”

“We’re leaving soon, so you’ll have to sleep it off in the car.”

“Was I asleep for that long?” I asked, searching for my phone. Sure enough, it was already mid-morning. I began to think on how much progress I could make towards Lestallum if I started out as soon as possible. 

“I guess you were. I kinda fell asleep for a bit too,” Prompto said, followed by a nervous laugh. He finally made a move to shift himself off of the bed and stretch as much as he could in the cramped trailer. I followed his movements and quickly made a move to grab my bag and begin packing in the few things that were scattered about.

“You coming with us?” Gladio asked with a snigger. 

“Yeah, right. You wish. I need to start making my way out of here or otherwise I’ll never do it.”

“Where are you heading to?” Gladio asked as he watched me stuff my clothes into my backpack and double check that I hadn’t left anything in the drawers. 

“Lestallum. Total opposite direction to you guys.”

“How are you going to get there?”

“Walking, hoping that I can at least make it to the next trailer before it gets dark.”

“You sure you can manage it? You don’t seem like the athletic type,” Gladio commented, and I shot him a glare. 

“No, I’m not, but I want to do it this way. It’ll give me a chance to test out my map reading skills and see something other than Insomnia,” I answered, stuffing my toiletries into my backpack and shutting it tightly. I was sure I had everything, so I nodded to myself, and then took to folding up the quilt that I’d bought from the bed and looping it through the straps of my bag. 

“We could give you a lift to the next stop if you’d like,” I heard a voice from outside. The accent indicated that it was Ignis. I leant myself over to look out of the door, and indeed, he was stood there, fixing the gloves on his hands. “It’d be dangerous if you didn’t make it there by nightfall.”

I took a few moments to think on his offer. It was out of their way, and I didn’t want to be any kind of bother to them. With a smile, I shook my head slightly. 

“I’ll be okay. You have a wedding to get to, so you should focus on that,” I said as cheerfully as I could manage. I saw Prompto give me a somewhat disappointed look, but I returned it with a smile. “The weathers great today, so I’ll enjoy the walk.” I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders and adjusted it slightly. 

“Still, I don’t know,” Prompto mumbled. 

“You worrying about me?” I asked, smile still stuck to my face. It was somehow a genuine smile. The thought that someone could be worrying for me was a nice change of pace. 

“Please let us give you a ride to the next stop,” I suddenly heard Noctis from somewhere beside Ignis. “I know you’re trying not to burden us, I get it. But Prompto won’t shut up unless he knows you’re alright.”

“Noct,” Prompto whined as he rolled off the bed to poke his head out of the door.

“I’m not wrong, am I?”

With a sigh of defeat, Prompto finally rose up from the bed and stalked outside, nudging his friend with his shoulder. 

“I’m going to go and buy something to eat.”

With that, he walked towards the store, seemingly in a bad mood. I could only assume he was still suffering from the previous night. 

“Alright, if it’s not too much of a bother, I’d appreciate the ride. But you’re letting me pay you for it,” I finally said as I pushed past Gladio who was still stood in the middle of the trailer. I was out of the trailer for the last time. It felt a little sad in a way.

“Or since you paid for the trailer, we could just call it even?” Ignis suggested. 

“That would also work,” I nodded, adjusting the backpack slightly. 

“Give me your bag. I’ll put it in the trunk,” Gladio said, offering his hand out towards me. I obliged quietly, and he seemed surprised by how light my bag actually was. “I thought you were moving?” he half asked. I shrugged.

“I sold a lot of things I had to pay the deposit on my apartment,” I admitted. 

“Are you really going to be okay?” Noctis asked as he pushed himself off of the wall of the trailer that he was leaning on.

“I mean, I don’t know. But I can hope, right?”

There was an awkward silence that fell over us for a few seconds. I knew that they really didn’t have any idea of if I’d really be alright by myself, but I didn’t let my posture faulter whatsoever. I just needed to take their doubts and let them push me forward.

“We should exchange numbers,” Noctis finally said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and approaching me. “Just incase.”

I nodded, digging my phone out of my pocket and flicking through the menus again, just as Prompto had shown me. Ignis and Gladio quickly followed suit and we silently exchanged phone numbers amongst ourselves as we waited for Prompto. 

“Well, at least if you aren’t okay, you have us as back up now, right?” Gladio said with a grin. “Though I’m sure you’ll prove us wrong in your own time.”

I smiled at his words, and nodded slightly. 

“Watch me.”

It was only another five or so minutes before I was in the backseat of their luxurious car, and I couldn’t help but appreciate the comfort of the seats even though I was tightly wedged in between Gladio and Noctis. As Prompto finally appeared out of the store with a small bag in hand, he raised his eyebrow at the sight of us packed into the backseat. 

“You changed your mind?”

“Noctis convinced me.”

He smiled slightly before he turned his attention to Gladio. 

“Out. You’re gonna crush her,” he said firmly. It was a tone I didn’t expect from him. Gladio didn’t argue, although he let out a groan as he opened the door and pulled himself out of the leather seat. Prompto quickly slid himself in, taking his place. “I, uh, hope this is more comfortable,” he nervously mumbled. 

His bare arm was brushing up against my own ever so slightly, and for some reason it really flustered me. I could hardly bring myself to look in his direction, but it was much more preferable that being squashed in the back seat between the prince and Gladio’s muscular figure.

“Thanks,” I murmured as I began focusing on a small stain on the knee of my jeans. With us all finally tucked away into the car, Ignis started the engine, and I finally left the trailer in Hammerhead behind to start my new life. 

It was less than five seconds after we pulled out of the station that Gladio began fussing with the radio, flicking through the songs that he could find until he settled on some light music to break up the silence. I found the low hum of the engine and the wind winding it’s cold fingers through my hair to be quite soothing. The slight nap I’d had on Prompto’s shoulder mixed in with the painkillers, and I found that my hangover was slowly vanishing. 

I was comfortable with the silence. I was comfortable enough to let out a slight yawn as I tried to stretch my muscles out as much as I could. Prompto nudged my shoulder slightly before he gestured to the camera in his hand. 

“Since you’re in the car, you have to agree that I’m allowed to take photos of you if I feel like it,” he said with a grin, and I gave him an unimpressed look in return. 

“You should have told me that before I got in the car,” I said with a giggle that I couldn’t suppress. I should have really guessed that he’d want to take photos. I liked that his love for photography was something that he hadn’t lost over the years. “But, I guess it’s not like I have a choice, right?”

“Right.”

“Just make sure you delete any where I look bad, okay?”

“Hmm,” he mused as he held the camera up towards me. It was far too close to my face to have any kind of flattering results. I pushed him away as much as the space would allow, and I heard a chuckle next to me. I turned to stare at Noctis who was giving us an amused look.

“What?” I asked, completely forgetting my place for a moment.

“Nothing. You two just seem to get along pretty well,” he noted as he took to leaning his head on his hand and looking out along the moving landscape. 

I didn’t get to think on it too long as I caught Prompto out of the corner of my eye with his camera in front of his face. Before I had any time to argue, there was a quiet clicking sound. He dropped his hands, revealing the smug grin that was plastered on his face. 

“Are you trying to make me regret getting in the car?” I said, trying to grab the camera out of his hands, only for him to hold it away from me. 

“I’m making sure I capture the memories of our trip!” he insisted, putting the camera away and settling back down into his seat, his arm touching mine again. Why was the feeling so overwhelming to me?

I tried to shake it off as we fell back into our silence. Beside me, I’d noticed that Noctis was quick to close his eyes and try and catch what extra sleep he could. I envied him. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable by any means. I actually felt really content in the back seat of the car, as if I was welcomed by the four of them without question. I knew that they had to have some kind of trust in me to let me next to the prince without giving me any cautious glances. I suppose a night of drinking and trying to pull out each other's deepest secrets gave us a bond of some kind.

“Hey, you’ll let me know when you get there, won’t you?” Prompto suddenly said in a hushed voice so that Gladio wouldn’t hear him.

“Of course,” I replied in an equally as quiet tone. “Though you have to text me some photos of Altissia when you’re there. I’ve always wanted to go.”

“Sounds like a deal to me,” he said with a grin. Slowly I realised that the car was coming to a halt, meaning we’d finally arrived at our destination. It hardly took any time, but it had probably shaved hours off of my journey. “Oh,” I heard Prompto next to me with a hint of disappointment in his voice. 

“We’re here already? That was a lot quicker than I expected,” I murmured. Ignis expertly parked the car quickly and turned the engine off. With a small sigh, Prompto pulled on the handle of the door, pushing it open. I scooted out after him, careful to not disturb the prince that was sleeping peacefully next to me. 

Gladio also hopped out of the car to make his way to the trunk to retrieve my bag. I could see a trailer that looked almost identical to the one in Hammerhead not too far from where I was, and it was if I’d made almost no progress. 

“If I may make a suggestion, you should consider staying here for the day and recovering properly before you make your way to Lestallum,” Ignis suggested as he turned to me from the driver's seat.

“That sounds like a plan.”

Gladio handed me my bag without a word, and I turned to smile at him in thanks. I hoisted it up onto my back once more. Suddenly I felt a strange melancholy weigh down on my chest. 

“So, I guess this is it?” I half questioned. I grasped onto the straps of my backpack, unsure of what to do or what to really say. “Thank you for spending time with me yesterday, I had a lot of fun.”

“We’ll have to hang out again when we’re back from Noct’s wedding,” Gladio suggested, to which even Ignis nodded in approval. 

“I’ll make sure I don’t get myself hurt on the way there, in that case,” I joked, giving them the biggest smile I could muster. Gladio gave me a light pat on the shoulder before clambering into the back seat of the car once more. 

That just left Prompto. 

“Take care of yourself, alright?” he said, trying his best to shoot me his normal grin, but it had a hint of sadness behind it somewhere. I couldn’t help but wonder why. He was the one leaving to travel the world and see his best friend get married. He was going to have a great time over the coming weeks, and I felt excited for him. 

Though, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel sad myself. 

“I should be the one telling you that,” I giggled at him, earning me an unamused look. “We’ll both be fine, I’m sure of it.”

He nodded, telling me he’d understood what I’d said, but it didn’t seem to help the sadness he was holding on to.

“Go on,” I encouraged him. “Get out of here before you make me sad. We’ll see each other again, so I refuse to let myself get upset about it.” I said it with a laugh, hoping that it would cheer him up, and it seemed to bring about a genuine smile from him, although it wasn’t his usual sunshine grin. 

“Alright,” he agreed. Before he left, he held out his fist towards me, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as I bumped it against my own. It was a ridiculous way to say goodbye, but it felt fitting of his personality.

Without another word, he crawled into the front seat of the car, and Ignis started the engine again once more. As the car turned and began to drive back down the road which they’d already travelled, I gave them a small wave, unsure if any of them were really looking to see it. 

As I watched the car disappear into the distance, I thought for a moment on how much I was hoping for their safety. The world was such a strange place that I couldn’t help but worry for them. In my heart, I genuinely believed that they’d all be okay, and that we’d meet again in no time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the weekend away for Easter, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share more of this with you. I hope you're enjoying the story so far! If you have any feedback for me, I'd really appreciate it, even if it's negative. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

I let out a sigh as the rain pattered against the glass of the windows. The sound was quite calming, though it was drowned out by the chatter of my friends.

“Prince, you must have like, a hundred maids, right?” my friend asked.

What was her name again?

I looked at them out of the corner of my eye. She had a pink blush staining her pale skin as she looked at the prince who looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else at that moment. She wasn’t the only one cornering him. He was surrounded by a gaggle of girls who were asking him questions, and swooning at his mere presence.

‘I don’t understand why they dragged me along,’ I thought to myself, looking back out of the window. The rainy season was in full swing, and there was something comforting about being able to pass the time by watching the droplets of water race down the glass.

“Bathroom,” he suddenly said, sidestepping the girls as quickly as he could, making his hasty exit towards the bathrooms. His words seemed kind of rude in my opinion, but I didn’t exactly blame him. It was the same every single day. Even I was tired of it, and I wasn’t the one who was constantly under interrogation.

“He’s so cool,” my friend finally said with a sigh as he disappeared down the hallway. “Don’t you think so?”

“I’ve never spoken to him, so I don’t know,” I pointed out, turning my attention away from the window.

“You’ve seen him though,” she insisted.

Arguing with her would have been pointless. She would have just gotten herself into a bad mood if I’d dared to speak against the Prince that she so clearly had a crush on.

“I suppose you’re right,” I lied.

“Of course I’m right!”

She linked her arm with mine and began to skip down the hallway towards our classroom. We only had a few minutes before the end of lunch, and I yearned to get back into lessons. I appreciated the break in conversation about Noctis.

When we’d first made friends, she was undeniably sweet. But as time began to pass, she changed. From the moment she became obsessed with impressing her crush, she began to alter into what she thought he would like. I couldn’t understand it, though until that point, I couldn’t recall ever having a crush on anyone.

I’d tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it felt like she’d become a much more scornful person.

As we entered the classroom, she was quick to approach our other friends who were grouped around our desks, chatting idly. There were five of us in total. We’d spend every break together without fail, and we’d often spend hours with each other at the local fast food restaurant after school. At one point, I’d enjoyed it.

In her haste, she knocked the desk of one of the boys at the back of the room. He shifted ever so slightly, but didn’t look up from the camera in his hands. She looked at him, and I could see there was a look of disgust in her eyes. She moved on quickly without apologising, and it made my heart sink.

“I’m sorry about that,” I told him, and he shook his head in response. I wasn’t sure if he was telling me that it was alright, or that I didn’t need to apologise to him in the first place.

The quiet boy at the back of the room who always played with his camera, and never seemed to interact with anyone was Prompto Argentum. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was always alone our of choice, or because no one had spent the time to reach out to him.

My gaze on him lingered for a little too long, and I felt a slight tug on my shirt sleeve as my friend tried to pull me along. I could tell that Prompto felt uncomfortable under my gaze, so I shifted along slowly.

Later that same day, I found myself shoved into a booth at the local fast food restaurant as always. My friends chatted amongst each other, the main subject being how lucky we were to attend the same school as the Prince of Lucis, as always. I found it difficult to even feign interest in what they were saying. I was far too busy keeping an eye on my umbrella by the door. If someone else had taken it, I would have been in real trouble when it came to getting home.

It was as I eyed my umbrella a familiar figure came in through the door. It was Prompto, who shook off his hair as he entered the door. It seemed he’d forgotten his umbrella that day.

This wasn’t the first time I’d caught a glimpse of him in the fast food place that was closest to our school. Usually, I never gave him a second thought. But that day, I watched him carefully as he ordered his food. He was handed a paper bag a few seconds later, and he was out of the establishment as quick as he came.

It had me wondering why he was ordering his food to go. Were his parents too busy at work to make sure he ate well? It wasn’t an uncommon thing. I knew plenty of people who had to look after themselves for the most part because their parents were so focused on their careers. So why did looking at him make me feel so sad?

“Hey, are you okay?” my friend asked, nudging me out of my thoughts.

“I was just thinking about something.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I just wondered if that Prompto kid’s okay,” I mused.

“Who cares?” She stated it with such a coldness that made me realise just how much she’d really changed.

“That’s harsh, don’t you think?” I asked, looking her in the eyes.

“Why do you care? He’s a nobody.”

I sighed at her words before I scooped up my bag and stood up.

“I’m gonna go home, I have homework that I need to do,” I said as I collected my tray and quickly scooted away, throwing the remnants of my meal into the nearest bin. They didn’t argue, but I heard them snickering behind me. They were no doubt making fun of how much effort I put into school work, of all things.

I shook off the thought, and exited the building, umbrella safely in hand.

I was sure that Prompto hadn’t exiled himself from his classmates on purpose. He either thought that they had already judged him, or he lacked confidence. I wasn’t sure that it was my place to get involved with his life. It wasn’t as if he knew me. But something within me felt like I had to help him.

Was it empathy or pity?

I genuinely couldn’t distinguish the two.

On my way home, I came to the conclusion that I would absolutely help him.

Whatever it took, I would make sure that I could do something good before my middle school career came to an end.

 

“Hey, are you coming? We’re going to go and find Noctis,” my friend said as we were dismissed for lunch the next day.

“Not today. I fell asleep when I got home, so I have some homework to finish off,” I said, giggling slightly to try and sell my white lie.

“I wondered why you seemed like you were in a bad mood yesterday. I guess you were tired.”

“Yeah, must’ve been. But go and have fun,” I said, waving to them. They nodded, and left the classroom without questioning me any further.

As they closed the door, I looked around the room. There were students pulling their desks together so that they could eat lunch, and sure enough, Prompto was sat at his own desk, camera in hand. I nodded to myself in determination before standing up and making my way towards him.

“Hey, Prompto,” I said with the biggest smile I could muster. He looked up at me from underneath his glasses warily. “I haven’t introduced myself before, I’m-”

“I know who you are,” he mumbled. “You’re Rena, right?”

“Right,” I said with a nod as I sat in the chair in front of him, thankful that it’s occupant had disappeared for lunch. I twisted myself to look at him properly, and I could tell he was already quite flustered. “How are you?” I asked, not exactly sure how to strike up a conversation with him. That was all that came to mind.

“I’m fine, I guess,” he said quietly. He clutched his camera to his chest as he spoke nervously, almost as if he was shielding his work from my eyes. It seemed as if his camera was his safety blanket.

“Do you like photography, then?” I asked, although the answer was obvious. It was about the only thing I knew about him. He nodded with an affirmity that made him look kind of cute. I smiled at him, trying to set his mind at ease. “I’ve always wanted to take photos on a camera like that,” I continued. “I’m not very good though.”

He looked at me, and I could see a flicker of excitement in his eyes. Even if he’d told me to go away right then and there, I knew that I’d achieved something, however small. He didn’t tell me to leave though.

“It’s all about practise,” he told me, his voice a little louder this time.

“Do you have any tips for an aspiring photographer?”

He thought on my question for a long minute as if he were trying to come up with the perfect response. I sat there awkwardly as he looked up and thought. Then he looked down, and furrowed his brow as he thought even harder.

“It’s hard to say,” he finally said.

I saw an opening, and even though it felt like a long shot, I took it.

“Would you mind teaching me a few tricks, in that case?”

“M-me?” he stuttered in response. His face told me that he was shocked at my question. “D-did your friends put you up to this?” he sadly mumbled. He really didn’t trust me, that much I could tell, and I didn’t exactly blame him.

“Not at all. I’m just interested in taking photos,” I lied. I had no interest in photography at all. Though I wasn’t against the idea of learning about it, my creative interests were elsewhere.

He thought again.

“I guess I could,” he mumbled, as if he was unsure of his answer.

“Great! What are you doing after school?”

“You want to do it after school? As in today?”

“Are you busy? We can make it another time, if you have things to do.”

“I’m not busy,” he answered immediately.

“Oh, I have to clean up after class today. I’ll try to get it done as quickly as I can. Do you want to meet at the school gates at about 4 o’clock?” I asked, and he nodded in response. “Great! I hope we can get along, in that case,” I said, smiling.

He returned the smile with his own, but it was small and unsure.

With the plans made, I hopped out of the seat and nodded at him before making my way to my own desk. I really hadn’t made a start on the homework from the previous day, because I’d been lost in my thoughts about how I could help him. Though the way he agreed to teach me about photography already felt like an achievement in it’s own way.

 

As promised, after I’d finished up my clean up duty, Prompto was waiting at the school gates for me, looking at his camera as he always seemed to. He seemed so sweet when he was lost in his own world.

“Hello, again,” I chirped as I approached him.

“Hi,” he replied cautiously.

“So, where do we start, teacher?” I asked, and he immediately became flustered at my question.

“I suppose we should try and find something to take photos of,” he responded.

“Shall we go, then?”

“O-oh, right.”

As we began to walk side by side, we fell into an uncomfortable silence. I knew that one way to get him talking was to talk about photography, so I turned to him with my smile.

“What kinds of things do you like to take photos of then, Prompto?”

“Oh, uhm, animals, I guess.”

“Animals?”

“Yeah. They’re easier to approach than people,” he said, laughing nervously.

“I’m not difficult to talk to, am I?”

“A little bit.”

“I’m sorry, is this uncomfortable for you?” I asked, sighing slightly. I’d been so set in my own goal that I hadn’t really taken the time to think on how he felt.

“A little bit. But it’s okay. You seem different from everyone else,” he mumbled.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I just know that a lot of people make fun of me.”

My heart sank in my chest. Of course they did. He was shy, which already made him an easy target, and I was sure that his appearance did him no favours on that front. Children were cruel and relentless. I couldn’t help but pull an uncomfortable face at his words. My friends weren’t innocent when it came to that front either.

“It’s okay,” he said suddenly. “I’m used to it.”

“You should be used to better things in your life, Prompto.”

“It’s okay. Really.”

We fell into silence again for a few brief seconds before he made a surprised noise, and began to run in front of me. His pace was quite slow, so it wasn’t hard to keep up with him as he ran ahead.

“Look!” he said with excitement as we caught up to whatever he was chasing.

In front of us was a wall, a pure white cat laying on top of it, it’s blue eyes glaring at us. He quickly held his camera up, snapping a few pictures of the lazy animal. I couldn’t help but smile at how enthused he seemed.

“It’s eyes are the same colour as yours,” I said without thinking. Immediately his face turned to a bright shade of red, as if I’d said the most inappropriate thing imaginable. It wasn’t even a compliment, but more of an observation.

“I-I guess you’re right,” he nervously giggled before he turned his attention back to his camera. It was then that he suddenly realised why we were out together, and he thrust the camera in my direction. “Y-you should try taking a photo,” he stuttered.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to use your camera?” I asked, and he nodded. I carefully took it in my hands and looked through the viewfinder.

“Please don’t break it, though.”

“Say that before I’m holding it.”

I carefully lined up the cat in my view and was just about to take the picture when my subject suddenly jumped up and off of the other side of the wall.

“Oh, I guess I took too long,” I sighed, defeated. I handed the camera back to him, and he smiled at me as if to reassure me.

“It’s okay. I know there are a lot of animals in the park. We can go there if you’d like?” he asked. With a grin, I nodded and we silently made our way to our next destination.

 

“Hey, how come you aren’t hanging around with us much after school anymore?” my friend asked me as we wandered back to the classroom. It had been another lunch of hanging around the prince. He look about as dismayed as I felt.

“Oh, I’ve been busy,” I yawned as I stretched my muscles.

It had been a month since I’d first spent my free time with Prompto, and the more time that passed by, the more I enjoyed his company. I’d come to the conclusion that he was, indeed, a very kind hearted boy, and his presence felt like a breath of fresh air after the toxicity that my friends seemed to emit.

“Busy with what?”

“The school festivals coming up. I’m hoping to get into the talent show again this year, so I’ve been practising,” I half lied. It was a goal of mine to get into the talent show, of course, but I’d hardly spent the time practising.

At first, Prompto and I had only spent an hour together. But as the days ticked on, we seemed to spend more time wandering around the city together until it started to get dark. It always felt slightly disappointing to have to go home when the twilight had begun to set in. With Prompto though, I felt like I always had something to look forward to.

Though it did feel like I was living a double life. One of them, I was friends with the girls in my class who swooned over the Prince. The other one, I felt like I had a genuine friendship budding with my shy classmate. He seemed to smile a lot more though, so that in itself was enough to keep me going.

“I’m sure you’ll nail it again this year,” she said in a dull tone. “Just spend some more time with us, okay?”

“I’ll try,” I lied. I had no desire to spend more time with her than I needed to, but it felt as if ending our friendship would just make the last few months of school far more complicated than it needed to be. “But I’m aiming for first place this year.”

“Weren’t you aiming for first place last year?”

“Look, it was unfair competition. How was I supposed to compete with someone who was a professional gymnast?” I complained.

“At least she’s graduated already. You might stand a chance this year,” she noted, sounding bored with the conversation. I gave her a nod of determination as I sat myself down at my desk, pulling out my books for the next class.

“So, what are you practising for?” Prompto asked me as we approached the park that same evening. “I heard you talking to your friend.”

“Oh, about the talent show?”

“Yeah. If I’m okay to ask about it,” he said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. As we spent more time together, he seemed more comfortable with asking me questions.

“I like singing. I’m pretty good at it if I do say so myself,” I said, giving him a confident wink. “You have to come and cheer for me if I get into the talent show, alright?”

“I don’t know about cheering,” he mused, taking my words far too literally. “I’ll come and watch though.”

“That’s enough for me,” I grinned at him.

“I had a thought,” he said as we sat ourselves down on our usual bench at the park. He sounded breathless as he took the weight off of his feet. “I don’t think I’m doing that great a job at teaching you properly. There’s a lot of technical things to consider about photography, y’know?”

“How so?”

“There are a lot of rules to good composition.”

“Like what?”

“Like the rule of thirds, and leading lines. There’s balance and juxtaposition if you want to take a really, really good photograph.”

“It sounds like you really know a lot about this stuff. I really am an ametuer still, aren’t I?” I laughed, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.

“You’ve taken some really good photos,” he insisted. “But if you want to take the next step, you’ll need to learn about some techniques.”

“Okay, I’m ready to be taught!” I said enthusiastically, but he shook his head.

“I was going to lend you one of my books so you could read about it at home.”

“You’d really lend me something like that?”

He nodded, smiling slightly.

“It’s been a while. I trust you enough to lend you one of my books. Just don’t write mean things in it, okay?”

“I wasn’t even thinking about it?” I half asked, curious about where he’d gotten the idea from himself.

“I’ll bring it for you tomorrow then,” he said with a nod, brushing off my curiosity expertly.

“What’s your favourite thing about Noct?” my friend asked the group as we sat around our desks for lunch. It had been a while since we’d had lunch together, but it seemed that day, Noctis was absent from school. So rather than bugging him, we’d taken to talking about him amongst ourselves.

“I really like his eyes,” another of my friends cooed happily.

They’d all been taken under the prince’s spell, so it seemed.

“What about you?” I was suddenly asked.

“Oh, I, uh,” I sputtered at the sudden question. I thought on it for a minute, and the only thing that came to mind was his rudeness when it came to trying to get rid of his fans. “I think his attitude is pretty great,” I said, internally thinking I was hilarious.

“Are you finally starting to see his charm?” my friend asked with excitement.

She was really dense sometimes.

“Uhm, excuse me,” I heard a familiar voice from beside our grouped together desks. I looked up to see Prompto, nervously stood beside us, clutching a thick textbook in his hands as if it were his shield. My eyes widened.

Part of me was impressed that he’d managed to approach a group of people that he didn’t really know all that well. The other half of me was horrified.

“What do you want?” my friend asked sharply, glaring at him with a venomous look.

“Hey, Prompto,” I interjected, trying to reassure him that I didn’t mind his sudden appearance. “Did you want to talk to me about something?”

“I, uh, I-I bought the book. I’m busy later so this is the only time I can give it to you,” he said, his voice trembling uncontrollably. He quickly offered it to me in one swift motion, his hands shaking as much as his voice was. I began to reach out towards it and thank him when my prince-obsessed friends began to make disgusted sounds, and giggle at how nervous he was.

“What makes you think that she wants to borrow it? She’s probably just humouring you, y’know.”

My eyes fell on her and I glared at her, though she seemed oblivious to it. When did she turn into such a horrible person? What made her think that her new found attitude would attract the prince? The questions swirled around in my head as I looked at her, leaving the silence to linger in the air for a few moments longer than it should have.

“O-oh.” I looked to Prompto, his face showing that he was obviously upset. His arms dropped, and he looked at the book in his hands. “Of course. Y-you’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He began to turn away, dejected.

“I can speak for myself, y’know?!” I suddenly shouted, my outburst surprising even me. It stopped Prompto in his tracks, and he looked at me with surprise. I rose from my seat, scraping my chair back. It was loud, and it was only then that I realised how quiet the classroom had turned.

I could tell that there was a panic bubbling up from the very core of my being. The last thing I wanted was for Prompto to think that I’d befriended him as some kind of sick joke.

“You’re friends with this loser?”

I couldn’t think of appropriate words to scream at her. I just wanted her to stop talking.

“We’re not friends,” Prompto suddenly interrupted.

Why did his words hurt me so much?

I looked at him, and he smiled ever so slightly at me. I think he knew that I was upset, but he nodded, as if he was telling me it was okay. He was taking the fall for me.

“Well then, leave her alone, and get away from us, you freak,” she cackled. Her words stunned me, but they were enough to spur Prompto on so he could leave the room and escape the eyes of our entire class. Once he was safely out of the room, there were mumbles that rippled through the other pupils.

“You really are the worst person I’ve ever met, you know that?” I said quietly before I stormed out of the room, hoping that I could catch up to Prompto.

He wasn’t far. He was leant against the wall outside of the classroom, taking in large breaths of air as if he was trying to stop himself from panicking.

“Are you okay?” I asked, reaching out to touch his arm, but he flinched away from me.

“I’m fine.”

I felt like I was about ready to start crying. I hated everything about the words she’d said to him, and it just felt as if trying to help cheer him up would be pointless. He thrust the book towards me again, and waved it slightly. He wasn’t looking at me, but I knew he wanted me to take the book still.

I took it from him, and bit my lip to stop my face contorting into a sad stare.

“You know I don’t think any of those things about you, right?” I asked.

He shook his head, still not daring to look at me.

“You’re wrong.”

His words silenced me. I had nothing I could say to fix this situation. I lacked the wisdom to figure out what would help. My shoulders slumped as I had a realisation.

I’d realised that the words they had said to him were just reaffirming what he already thought of himself, and there was nothing I could say to convince him otherwise. I’d never been so aware of something in my entire life.

“I’m okay on my own,” he finally said.

I felt my nose twitch as I tried to hold back my emotions.

“I wanted to be friends with you,” I mumbled, my voice wavering.

“Thank you. It’s because of that that we shouldn’t be friends right now. I’ll just drag you down,” he said sadly. “I won’t forget it, though.”

I looked up at him, and he was grinning at me? Why, now of all times, was he showing me his bright, dazzling smile for the first time?

Without another word, he began to walk away from me, down the hallway with no destination in mind. He left me behind, clinging to the textbook about the rules of photography, desperately trying to hold myself together. He may have been the first genuine friend that I’d ever had in my life, yet I was absolutely powerless to stop him from leaving me.

After that, we never spoke again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad to finally have this chapter out. I've been kind of desperate to share this one with you, so hopefully you have a little bit more of an idea of their history together. As always, thank you so much for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

I woke from my nostalgic dream the next morning, feeling a bubble of emotion sitting at the back of my throat. It was as if all of the memories of my school life had flooded back all at once and the feeling of overwhelming rejection ebbed away at my heart.

It had been three days since I’d seen Prompto and his friends, and I was slowly approaching my destination. I knew that on that day I’d have to make a lot of progress in my journey, but as I peeked out of the window, I let out a sigh. It was raining, and I didn’t have an umbrella.

Regardless, I knew I was getting closer to Lestallum, so I hauled myself up off of the bed in the newest trailer and grabbed my phone with a yawn. I figured that I could listen to the radio as I got myself ready to make the rest of the journey. I flicked it on, and began digging through my bag to find my hairbrush when the music from the radio stopped, and instead I was listening to a news broadcast that was important enough to interrupt the schedule. At first, I didn’t pay it any attention, until suddenly I realised what was going on.

_As to ceasefire discussions between the two nations, all provisional terms have been suspended in light of recent developments._

I dropped my hairbrush as I turned to look at my phone in terror.

_Moreover, in the wake of the news of King Regis’s death, we’ve now received word that Crown Prince Noctis and the Oracle Lunafreya have also been pronounced dead._

Lies.

They had to be lies.

There was no way that they were in the capital. They were supposed to be in Altissia by now. It was then that I thought of Prompto. My heart felt as if it had stopped in my chest for a few seconds before I scrambled for my phone as quickly as I could. With my hands shaking, I searched through my contacts, and quickly found who I was looking for.

‘Please tell me you’re okay,’ I text to Prompto as quickly as I could manage, my hands quivering uncontrollably.

As I eagerly waited for his reply, I quickly dressed myself and darted out of the trailer in a panic, searching for the nearest newspaper. It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened from the way that the people around me were talking.

Insomnia had fallen. The Empire had no intention of going through with the ceasefire. That, and hundreds, if not thousands of people were dead.

I felt dizzy from all of the information that was suddenly thrust in my direction. However much I hated it, Insomnia had been my home for all twenty years of my life, and every one I’d ever known could have been dead for all I knew.

My phone suddenly vibrated in my hand, and as I saw a message pop up from Prompto, I felt immediate relief.

‘We’re fine. Get to Lestallum as quickly as you can. Don’t stop for anything, and if you get into any trouble, just run as fast as you can, okay?’

At least the report about Noctis was false, I thought, sighing out of sheer relief.

‘I don’t understand what’s happening.’

His next reply came a lot quicker than the first.

‘As far as I can tell, this whole ceasefire was a set up. There are Imperials everywhere, so be on guard, alright?’

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I wasn’t a fighter of any kind. I didn’t even have a weapon. Was there any hope that I’d manage to get to Lestallum in one piece?

That, however, was not the time to doubt myself. I quickly ran towards the trailer, and collected my things before I was out of the door again. I took off down the road as quickly as my legs could manage, doing my best to forget about the cold rain that was seeping through my jacket.

My phone buzzed again.

‘It’s really important that you let us know you get there. Don’t forget.’

I nodded to my phone before tucking it away in my pocket and beginning my journey.

After an hour of walking as fast as my legs could manage, it was safe to say I was completely fed up. I was drenched, cold, and I still felt as if I were a million miles away from my new home. Just as I was about to get lost in my own thoughts about how I thought I’d never make it there, the air around me began to vibrate, and it terrified me.

A loud, low rumble began to rip through the air as I looked up to see what could have only been described as a fleet of airships slowly move over me, towards Insomnia. My steps slowed as I watched them in a horrified awe.

Whatever had happened, it was bad, and it was only going to get worse.

I just froze as I watched them slowly glide over my head. I couldn’t tell if I was frozen out of fear, hoping that they wouldn’t suddenly stop and find me on the roadside. They didn’t stop, they just noisily tore through the sky towards their destination, and the thought of it made my stomach ache.

Once they’d passed, I started down the road again, this time, my pace much quicker. I just needed to get to Lestallum as quickly as I could. There, I’d be safe, at least in theory. But outside, on the road, I felt incredibly vulnerable.

It was only a few minutes later that a truck pulled up alongside me, and the driver was quick to stop me.

“Hey, are you a refugee?” he asked. His voice drawled on as he leant out of his window to listen to my response. His arms were covered in tattoos, and I couldn’t help but notice the dog tags that hung from around his neck. He must have been a hunter. I’d heard about them before, but he was the first I’d seen.

“I suppose so,” I answered, unsure of my answer. Could I be a refugee if I’d left before the attack?

“You want a ride? I can take you to Lestallum if that’s where you’re heading,” he replied. He seemed friendly enough, but I was still weary. I knew he could tell, as he attempted a smile at me. “It’s gotta be better than walking in the rain.”

I nodded, biting my lip. 

“Alright,” I agreed, slowly approaching the truck and cautiously pulling the door open. I slung my bag in the empty seat beside me, next to the hunter, and gave him a smile of thanks.

“I’m Dave, by the way. I was just on my way to Lestallum, hoping I could help anyone who was along the road.”

“Because of what happened in Insomnia?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Terrible thing, that happened there.”

“I don’t know too much about it,” I admitted as the truck began to move.

“No one really does. All the news reports are confused and conflicting. Can’t tell what’s true and what’s not right now,” he sighed. “I just hope that the prince is keeping himself safe.”

“You know Noctis?” I asked, and he nodded.

“He helped me out a few days ago. Talented bunch of guys he has there.”

“They’re safe,” I told him sternly. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but they’re alive.”

“I didn’t doubt him. Damn false news reports almost gave me a heart attack this morning.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” I said, relaxing into the seat. If this person knew Noctis, then I could trust him enough to take a few minutes to compose myself.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check to any messages, but there were none. I wasn’t sure if I’d be bothering Prompto too much if I text him again, but I thought it was worth mentioning that I was still okay. That, and I needed to know if they were still safe.

‘I managed to get a ride from a hunter called Dave. He mentioned Noctis, so I assume I’m safe with him.’

It was only a handful of seconds later that I got my reply.

‘Dave seems like a good guy. He should keep you safe.’

‘How are you? I’m worried about you guys.’

‘Things are strange. It seems like the news about King Regis is really true…’

My heart sank as I thought of Noctis for a few seconds. He must have been having a hard time, and there was nothing I could say to make it any better.

“Apparently the news about the King is true,” I mumbled, and Dave let out a long sigh.

“That’s a damn shame.”

‘Just keep yourself safe, okay?’ I text to Prompto, and my only response was an emoji of a smiling face. I put my phone away and began to pay attention to the world that was surrounding me. Even in the rain, it felt so grand and large. It was beautiful even. It’s only flaw was the dots of airship that littered the sky.

“Lestallum’s right there,” Dave suddenly said, pointing just ahead of us, where I could see the beginnings of the city that sat on the cliff. That was my new home, just there, and I could finally see it.

Regardless of the bad news of that day, I felt happy and thankful that I was finally there.

We didn’t say anything else. He turned the radio on as we approached my new home, and the stories of Noctis’ death were still being broadcast. Even though I knew they weren’t true, they still made me uncomfortable.

It was a few minutes later that we had finally arrived in Lestallum, and it was almost magical how the weather changed. It was humid, and the air felt as if it was suffocating me. I’d finally made it, a week after I’d left my city behind. I’d never imagined that things could have changed so much in such a short time.

“You gonna be okay here?” Dave suddenly asked as he pulled his truck up next to the pavement.

“Yeah. I should be okay. Thank you so much for your help,” I said with a smile. “Do you want any money for gas?” I asked and he shook his head.

“Nah, it’s fine. Just make sure you look out for any other refugees you see, alright?”

“I’ll do my best,” I smiled, collecting my bag.

“Alright, keep yourself safe. I’m going to go back and see if there’s anyone else I can help.”

I jumped out of the truck, and pulled my backpack on, sending him off with a wave. He seemed like a good guy. I was lucky that he found me when he did, and it shaved so much time off of my journey.

I gathered my thoughts as I turned around to look at Lestallum for the first time with my own eyes. It was different from Insomnia. It seemed as if every building needed a new coat of paint, but the waft of food that lingered in the air made my stomach growl impatiently. I shook off the thought, deciding that I first needed to get my keys for my new apartment and ditch my bag before I started exploring.

Within the hour, I had my keys, and my landlord was showing me how to navigate the streets to get my apartment. I was surprised by just how close it was to the market, and the centre of the town. I was also surprised by just how much garbage was piled up on the sides of the streets. It didn’t look at all like it did in the pictures.

We arrived, and I let myself into my new, tiny apartment that was just about perfect for myself. It was mainly made up of one large room, which would end up being both my living room and bedroom, with a kitchen fitted with everything I’d need to sustain myself, and a bathroom big enough to have a large, luxurious bath.

I couldn’t wait to use it.

“Feel free to do whatever you’d like with the place,” my landlord suddenly said as I looked around the empty space. “With what happened in Insomnia, I’m going to assume you’re going to be here for a while.”

“That was the plan before Insomnia fell,” I said, excited at the prospect of getting to make the place my own. It was then that he took a notebook out from his shirt pocket, and began scrawling something down on a bit of paper. He tore the page out and handed it to me.

“There’s a furniture store not too far from here. Here’s the address. Let ‘em know I sent you and they’ll give you a fair price.”

“Thank you,” I said, a little surprised by his kindness towards me. It was different to what I’d come to expect from Insomnia.

“If you need anything, just let me know. But get yourself settled in and take it easy,” he suggested before he bowed to me slightly and exited the room, leaving me on my own.

I turned to look at the empty apartment, and felt quite pleased at how nice it seemed. It had high ceilings and large windows that let in copious amounts of sunlight. I quickly took my phone out of my pocket after ditching my bag on the floor and snapped a quick photo.

I wanted to send it to Prompto, because I knew he was the only person who’d care to see it, and I felt strangely proud of my new, bare apartment. It was probably an inappropriate time to send it to him, but regardless, I sent it off to him, telling him that I’d made it to my destination at long last.  
  
With that, I grabbed my purse, and headed out of the door, ready to eat food and get some furniture for my new place. 

Two weeks later, I could say that my life had altered already from what it was in Insomnia. Maybe it was something in the air, or something about the atmosphere, but I’d settled down into my new apartment, feeling somewhat content with my life.

It helped that I’d been quick to find a job, so I wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to keep my new apartment and not being able to pay the bills. It was bar work, and nothing fancy, but it would do.

That particular morning, I’d gotten out of bed and looked to see that my cupboards were completely bare, so after a quick shower, I headed out the door and towards the market. I’d started buying ingredients from the market, and they always seemed to be fresh enough to give my meals an extra flavour.

I was going about my business as I always did, when I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. I cautiously turned to see a familiar face beaming at me happily. It took a moment to process who it was, grinning at me. We’d fallen out of contact in the last two weeks, and I assumed it was because he was too busy with the prince.

But as I realised that Prompto was the one staring at me, a huge grin across his face, I felt a wave of complete and utter relief wash over and overwhelm me.

I practically threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug. I was so, so glad to see that he was okay, and at that moment, I didn’t really care that it was completely inappropriate to just throw myself at him. I heard him chuckle ever so slightly before he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around my waist and giving me a tight squeeze for a moment before we pulled away from each other.

Even as we pulled away from each other, his hands stayed resting on my waist for a few moments as I looked at him in almost disbelief at his sudden appearance. As soon as he realised, he quickly released me, his face turning bright red as if he were embarrassed.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, still completely dumbfounded.

“I said I’d come visit, didn’t I?” he grinned at me. “We actually arrived last night. Gladio’s sister is one of the refugees, so we came to reunite those two, really.”

“So where are the others?” I asked, not seeing them anywhere.

“Off exploring. I just happened to see you. I was planning to text you, but now I guess I don’t have to,” he smiled, looking at the stall behind me.

“Well, I was planning to get food and make breakfast. You’re welcome to join me, of course,” I offered, and he nodded happily. “Then I guess I might have some time to give you a quick tour before I have to start getting ready for work.”

“You managed to find a job quite quickly,” he said, sounding quite impressed. He came to stand beside me as I looked over the array of vegetables on the stall.

“It’s nothing impressive. What do you want to eat?” I tried to brush off the subject of my work as quickly as possible, and he was quick to shrug.

“Whatever you feel like making,” he answered.

I quickly plucked up the foods I was looking for, and as soon as I had the bag in my possession, Prompto was quick to offer his hand to me. I looked at it in confusion.

“I’ll carry it for you,” he offered, and I couldn’t help but feel almost giddy at his words. I handed the bag to him, and we made our way further into the market to get the rest of the things I needed.

We arrived back at my apartment less than fifteen minutes later, and it was still devoid of a lot of essentials. I had a comfortable bed, a TV cabinet and TV, but still lacked chairs. Apparently when it came to furniture, I was a lot pickier than I remembered.

Besides, I’d spent most of my days walking around Lestallum, still trying to learn the way that the streets flowed into one another, and if I wasn’t wondering around, I was at work.

As we entered, our footsteps on the wooden floor bounced off of the walls and echoed.

“So, this is my apartment. Make yourself at home. Mi casa es su casa, or however the saying goes,” I said as I took the bags out of his hands and made my way straight to the kitchen. He took no time in sitting himself down on the floor in front of my TV and stretching his new legs out.

It was the first time I’d had anyone else in my apartment, and I was suddenly very aware of how empty it really was.

“This place is pretty great,” I heard Prompto say loudly from the other room as I began to fuss with various pots and pans. “Great location, too.”

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty great. I’m thinking about doing a little redecorating once I have the spare time. The landlord said I was free to do whatever I wanted to the place.”

“Wow, really? That seems pretty generous of him.”

“I think it is. So I’m going to be responsible with my choices, and not paint everything bright blue,” I joked. I heard footsteps behind me as he came to lean on the doorframe.

“Is blue your favourite colour or something?”

“It might be,” I said, not focusing on him behind me. Instead I focused on cutting the vegetables up. “I hope you like hot pot by the way. I had a sudden urge for it this morning. I know it’s not really breakfast food, but I promise it’ll be good.” I couldn’t help but grin at him, excited for my hard work to finally form into something that I thought would be delicious.

“I’ll trust you. I haven’t had hot pot in a really long time.”

“I’ll bring it out when everything’s ready. You can watch TV or something while you wait.”

“Man, when was the last time I got to relax and just watch TV?” he mused to himself as he spun around and made his way back to the other room. After a few seconds, I could hear the sounds from the TV float into the kitchen, and I smirked to myself. My apartment was very bare, but it was my new home. And something about having someone else in the place made it feel just that little bit more cosy and homely.

I spent a long time preparing everything, adding meat, noodles and tofu, along with the array of vegetables that I’d prepared into a broth that was made up of sake, soy sauce and sugar. By the time it had almost finished cooking, I could hear Prompto make a sound of pleasure from the living room as the apartment was filled with the aroma.

I giggled slightly, and poked my head out of the door to look at him. He was lying on the floor, hands resting on his stomach as he waiting.

“Hungry?” I asked.

“Starving,” he replied, moving his eyes off of the TV screen to look at me, a faint hope in his eyes.

“It’s pretty much done if you want to come and get what you want.”

He clumsily clambered up off of the floor and jumped slightly to straighten himself out. His grin was fixed on his face, and I quickly beckoned him into the kitchen. As his eyes caught the pot of food that was stewing on the stove top, I heard his stomach grumble impatiently.

I retrieved a bowl for him before I served him up a little bit of everything. A lot of the vegetables I hadn’t even tried before, so I could only really hope it tasted good. Even after serving up Prompto’s meal, there was still an ocean left, and I knew I’d be eating leftovers for a good long while.

“This looks delicious,” he said happily as he accepted his bowl off of me. I handed him a pair of chopsticks to complete the authentic experience, and he wasted no time in taking one of the mushrooms in his bowl and popping it into his mouth. I felt proud when his eyes widened in surprise, and he made small sounds that showed his enjoyment of the meal. “I think you might even rival Ignis when it comes to cooking.”

“How fortunate for you. You know two whole people who can cook,” I laughed as I served up my own portion. As soon as I had a satisfying amount, I turned the heat off and made my way into the living room, Prompto quickly following behind me.

“Is there anything good on TV?” I asked, and he shrugged.

“Not really, it seems like there are still a lot of news broadcasts about what happened in Insomnia,” he mumbled as he sat cross legged on the floor, cradling his bowl. “You know, I keep thinking about what happened there.”

“Did you have anyone close to you there?” I asked without thinking. I had a horrible moment where I thought I might have brought up something painful for him, but he shook his head.

“No, not really. I think King Regis sent us away to protect his son, so in a way, he protected us as well. Everyone important to me is alive, so I’m thankful for that. But it sucks, because I know Noct is still sad about it, and there’s nothing I can do to help him.”

I sighed as I picked at the tofu in my dish. He looked genuinely upset for a moment before he shook his head.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to bring the mood down. I wanted to have a good time with you today before you had to work,” he said, laughing nervously. “I’m glad that you made it out though.”

“Let’s just put that down to good timing. I don’t want to think about what could have been if I’d procrastinated just a little bit longer,” I smiled, focusing back on my food. “You might have never gotten to try my amazing hot pot.”

“That would have been the real tragedy,” he joked before he tucked into his food, focusing on the report on the TV. It still seemed hard to trust anything I heard on the news after the fright they’d given me when they falsely reported on Noctis’ death. I reached for the remote and began to flick through the channels, just trying to find anything else that was interesting, but I ended up circling back around to the same news broadcast rather quickly. “So you didn’t have anyone important to you in Insomnia?” he suddenly asked.

I put the remote down as I tried to think about it.

“Not really. My parents were there, but we haven’t spoken in a very long time anyway,” I said, trying my best to force a smile onto my face.

“I’m sorry, did I bring up something bad?” he asked, his eyes showing signs of guilt.

“It’s okay. We weren’t close. At all. They had a lot of ambitions in their lives that they wanted me to continue, so I was held back a lot in regards to what it was that I wanted to do with my life.”

“You’re being vague,” he commented as he munched on a piece of carrot.

“I have to keep the mystery alive,” I joked, giving him a wink. He laughed slightly before looking at me as if he expected me to carry on my tale. “I wanted to be a singer. They didn’t approve particularly.”

“Oh right, I remember from school,” he said casually.

“You do?”

“You were in the talent show, weren’t you?” he asked, frowning, almost as if he were trying to straighten his memories out.

“That’s right… How did you remember that?”

His cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as he brought his bowl up to his face to scarf down as much food as he could in one go, almost as if he were avoiding my question. I kept my eyes fixed on him, wanting to know the answer. As he placed his empty bowl down and chewed his food, he looked up at me, knowing he wasn’t going to avoid answering for too much longer.

“You asked me to cheer you on, didn’t you?”

“You went to the talent show?”

I hardly had any memories of it. Suffice it to say, although I had aimed to take first place in that talent show, I’d ended up in third. It was a disappointing end to my middle school career.

“Of course I did. I still have photos of it somewhere,” he pondered to himself.

“You have photos?” I asked, blinking at him in surprise.

“Oh… yeah. You were one of the first people I took photos of…” he trailed off, his blush coming back in full force. “I’d intended to show them to you when we got to high school, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

“Right…” I sighed. “We ended up at different schools.”

“I had this grand idea that I’d get in shape and work on being more confident, and then we could be friends. Like, proper friends.”

“I don’t understand why you pushed me away, still.” My voice was small as I spoke, and my hands had stilled over my food. It was something that had played on my mind a lot when I was younger, and it had been bothering me especially as of late, since my nostalgic dream.

He bit his lip, almost as if he didn’t want to continue the conversation. I was about to tell him to forget about it when he let out a long breath, and forced a smile at me.

“I thought I was making things harder for you,” he admitted, sadness evident in his voice. “I was picked on a lot in school, and I didn’t want you to get the same kind of treatment, I guess.” As he paused, I felt my heart sink in my chest. “I really did want to be friends with you, though.”

“You know I really wouldn’t have cared about all of that, right?”

“I was just trying to protect you, in my own dumb way.”

“Dumb is a word for it,” I said, finally smiling at him. He was sweet back then, but it felt as if I could barely remember it. I was thankful that he told me what he felt in middle school. It set my mind at ease. “I suppose all that matters now is that we’re here. And we somehow managed to reunite under weird circumstances.”

He nodded in agreement before beaming at me. “I guess I got my second chance to be friends with you!” I couldn’t help but giggle at how excited he seemed at the idea. “So to celebrate our friendship, would you mind treating me to seconds of the hot pot?”

“I see why you’re friends with me now,” I laughed. “Help yourself.”

After we’d both had our fill of the hot pot - which I must say, was the best I’d ever made - we made our way out onto the streets of Lestallum. I was thankful that the weather was nice. It was warm, but not so humid that it made being outside uncomfortable. Satisfied with his meal, Prompto stretched, and let out a loud yawn.

“So I guess I should give you the tour, although I’m still not exactly in the know when it comes to the places that the locals really enjoy.”

I started walking, and Prompto fell into step beside me, a happy smirk stuck to his face.

“You don’t have to give me the full tour. Just give me something scenic to look at and I’ll be happy.”

“Well, in that case, I know the perfect place. I’m sure you’ve seen it already, but there’s an amazing view of the Cauthess Disc,” I told him, and I saw his eyes light up. The excitement that was radiating off of him made me feel excited about our little outing, and I almost started skipping down the street as we went about our way.

It was only a few minutes until we arrived at our destination. Without words, Prompto was quick to pull his camera out to snap a few photos of our view.

“It looks the best at sunrise,” I pointed out as he pulled back from his camera.

“Yeah, I bet it does. I’ll have to make the effort to come out here early one day, in that case.”

“How long are you staying here for?”

He tucked his camera away and shrugged at me.

“I honestly have no idea. I think we’ll be in and out of Lestallum for a little while,” he answered, sounding somewhat unsure. “I hope you’ll make more of your hot pot next time I’m in town,” he grinned.

“Prompto, you make it seem like the only thing I’m good for is my cooking,” I said, a faux-hurt tone in my voice. I played up to it, placing a hand on my heart as if it were shattered, and pulling a distraught face.

As he looked at me, he panicked for a moment. My acting skills must have improved. I couldn’t help but smile at him slightly, just to let him know that I was kidding, which let him relax again.

“I really thought I’d upset you for a minute, there.”

“You’ll have to try harder than that to upset me,” I laughed, nudging him with my shoulder.

“I don’t think I’ll risk it, somehow.”

For a few moments, we looked over the view, content with how our day had been. I felt almost sad that it wasn’t going to be too long before I had to start getting myself ready for my shift that evening. Still, the day had been fantastic, and I could sense that Prompto felt the same.

“Wanna get a photo to remember the day by?” he asked, and I nodded.

“Do I look good enough for a photo?” I asked.

“Trying to get a compliment again?”

“Gotta take what I can get.”

He chuckled slightly before turning me around to get the angle on his photograph as perfect as possible.

“You look good,” he muttered quietly as he settled himself next to me, the Cauthess disc behind us. He held the camera out in front of us and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders to pull me in a little bit closer as he did before in Hammerhead. Without the haze of alcohol floating around in my system, his small gesture made me feel a strange mix of emotions.

I felt happy, as if I was always supposed to be that close to him, but I also felt nervous, as his proximity relative to me was way too much for me to handle. Unwillingly, I could feel heat rise in my cheeks as he got ready to take the photo. I managed to get myself together enough to give the camera a smirk just as he took the picture.

He turned the camera around to check his work, releasing me from his grip, allowing me to breathe again. As he inspected the photo, he looked shocked. I looked at him with a frown, curious about what had surprised him so much.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just a really nice photo,” he mumbled, not taking his eyes away from his camera. “Y-you look really cute.”

The heat in my face intensified at his words, but I laughed, trying to distract him from my blush.

“I finally got my compliment,” I joked, laughing far too nervously as I spun around to look at the view again. I just didn’t want Prompto to pay too much attention to my face at that moment.

“Look,” he said, thrusting the camera towards me so that I could see it. I could see the blush on my face, and I felt flustered just from seeing it. It was in that moment that I felt overwhelmed by everything, and a whirlwind of butterflies began to beat their wings in my stomach.

It was like every emotion possible had rushed into me all at once as I looked at the photo. We were both smiling in the same way, with these small but happy smirks, both of us blushing ever so slightly. In the background, the disc was just about visible, the afternoon sun glinting off of it’s sharp angles. We looked _happy_ to be in each others presence.

I managed to tear my gaze away from the photo to look at Prompto, who still seemed amazed by the picture. The look of awe on his face was simply adorable. As I looked at him, my heart started pounding uncontrollably.

That was the moment that I realised it.

It hit me like a tonne of stones, all at once, in a swirling, confused mess. Prompto Argentum, this person who had been the embodiment of change, was somehow managing to make me feel genuine emotion, aside from the crippling loneliness that had been harboured within me for so many years. When I was with him, I felt almost giddy from just how happy I felt. When he grinned at me, it felt as if my heart was fit to burst. It was that moment, as he showed me the photo, looking at it in his adorable awe that I realised that I’d grown too attatched to him; that I had feelings for him.  
  
The thought terrified me beyond anything else. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this was a bit of a long one. It was a weird chapter that was either reasonable in length, but had not a lot happening, or this beast that actually had some development. Oh well, it's done now, and I very much hope you enjoyed it!


	8. Chapter 8

In the following days, I could hardly keep my mind off of Prompto.

I was thankful that I had a busy number of days at work to keep myself preoccupied. Thinking about him for too long made me exhausted. Of all the people I had to go and get a dumb crush on, I’d think to myself.

Prompto was so different to every other man I’d ever been with in my entire life. He seemed to have this sense of innocence and wonder that I’d never seen before. Maybe it was that which was drawing me to him, I’d try to reason.

Of all the people, it had to be him.

I never wanted to date someone who was close to me. It’d just lead to even worse heartbreak down the road. I didn’t want to get hurt. I didn’t want Prompto to get hurt. And these messy, confused feelings were a surefire way to make sure that at least one of us ended up unhappy.

‘Give it a few days,’ I thought to myself. ‘In a few days, they’ll go away.’

As I finished work for that evening, and began on my way home, I heard my name being called from the darkness of the streets. I turned to see Gladio waving at me, followed by his friends, Noctis, Ignis, and of course, Prompto.

I forced a smile onto my face as they approached me at their leisurely pace. I was still in my uniform, and I wanted nothing more than to take a long, warm shower before tucking myself into bed for the night. If there was one thing I’d learnt over the last few days, it was that these complex thoughts were exhausting.

“I wondered when we’d run into you,” Gladio laughed as he patted me on the shoulder.

“I guess I can’t avoid you forever,” I joked, laughing nervously.

“We were just about to get something to eat, if you want to join us,” Gladio offered. I was about to decline as I thought about how much I wanted to sleep, but I saw Prompto positioned just behind him, a hopeful glint in his eye.

“I mean, I could probably manage about half an hour before I fall asleep,” I mumbled.

“Great!” Gladio said far too loudly before he began to wander off towards the closest restaurant that seemed to be open at all hours of the day.

We positioned ourselves outside, and I was thankful that my apartment was only just down the street if I needed to make my hasty exit. I sat in between Gladio and Prompto, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to the blond. He seemed equally as reluctant to speak to me.

I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d done something wrong, or something to upset him. I’d left rather quickly the other day after the photo, and I’d done everything I could to avoid checking my phone. Just the thought of him made me nervous, and I hated it.

Gladio, with his big, dumb mouth, was the one to break the silence.

“I think we should head back to Hammerhead sometime soon. Y’know, get the Regalia tuned up. That way Prompto gets to see his sweetheart,” he laughed, reaching over me to give Prompto a light punch in the arm. He laughed, albeit nervously, and my heart felt like it was tangled up in a mountain of knots.

“Y-yeah, I guess so.”

In all my worry, and confused thoughts, I’d completely forgotten about Cidney. The mechanic who I knew Prompto had a crush on. My thoughts spiraled quickly into unreasonable thoughts about having to attend their wedding, or when I saw them in their future with their family of beautiful blonde children. I knew they were unreasonable. So why did they make me want to cry so badly?

“Gotten any more advice off of this young lady?” Gladio asked again. I wanted him to stop talking more than I’d ever wanted anything. Nervously, I took to undoing the tie of my uniform and unbuttoning the first few buttons of my shirt.

“I’m sure I can manage,” Prompto said bluntly, turning his attention to the menu.

“Yeah, right. What do you think Prompto needs to do to charm the mechanic he’s so infatuated with?” Gladio asked, turning to me.

It was as if he knew, and he was just rubbing salt in the wound.

“I-I don’t know,” I managed to splutter. Even I thought the tone of my words was suspicious. “I think he should just be himself,” I added, trying to salvage what I could of the situation.

Gladio thought on this for a few seconds before he laughed without explanation, as if I’d told him the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

“You hear that, Prompto? Looks like you don’t have to work too hard on your charming qualities,” he continued, and I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

Was it too soon to make an excuse and leave?

“You’re being so weird,” Noctis finally pointed out as he yawned. He looked as if he was about ready to sleep, and had very little interest in eating. Gladio waved him off before he began scanning the menu.

It was then that Noctis looked at me, and gave me a small smile, as if he was trying to reassure me. It felt like he knew how conflicted I was feeling, and was doing his best to keep Gladio off of my back for a few seconds. I squinted at him as I tried to work out his intentions, but he never seemed to stop smiling at me.

“What are you going to eat?” Noctis finally asked me.

“Oh, I’m probably not going to eat. I know if I eat before I go to bed I’ll feel uncomfortable,” I told him, and he nodded in response.

“So, why did you come to eat with us?” he asked.

“Because I apparently enjoy putting myself in awkward situations with Gladio,” I joked, which earned me an amused look from the prince. He chuckled slightly before he shuffled back into his chair, relaxing slightly.

I had to admit, Noctis seemed a lot nicer than he was in middle school. I couldn’t help but think about how uncomfortable he must have felt with a crowd around him at all times. In Lestallum, it seemed as if no one paid him any mind. He looked as if he was a lot more relaxed than he was all those years ago.

“You know, you don’t have to hang around if you don’t want to,” Prompto suddenly said, his voice seeming a bit more distant than usual. Any hope of conversation had gone out of the window. “Why don’t you walk her home, Gladio?”

“I can walk by myself,” I said, suddenly feeling very defensive of myself. I plucked my bag off of the floor, and scraped my chair back. I couldn’t explain why I felt so angry at that moment, but being reminded that Prompto already had his sights set on someone genuinely made me ache.

Without a goodbye, I began to walk down the street, digging through my bag to find my keys. I was so close to that warm shower. I was so close to my comfy mattress. I just needed to sleep, and then I’d be okay. That was what I told myself.

As I reached the front door, I felt my phone vibrate. I plucked it out of my bag and looked to see that there was a text message from Prompto.

‘Sorry’ was all it said. I read it over and over again as I let myself into my apartment, thinking there must be some hidden meaning behind it. But there wasn’t. He was just apologising for being so dismissive. That was all there was to it.

‘I should apologise. I’m just too tired to deal with Gladio today,’ I replied as I locked my door behind me, quickly shirking myself of my uncomfortable uniform.

I felt a lot more human one I’d washed my hair and rinsed myself of the stench of the bar. As I dried my hair with a towel, I looked on my phone to see I had a set of text messages.

‘Think about how I feel, I have to deal with him everyday,’ the first one read. It was followed by ‘I’m sorry if I did anything to upset you. You’ve seemed distant for a couple of days.’ The last one read ‘I’m sorry, you’re probably trying to sleep. Text me when you wake up.’

I sat myself down on the bed, clad in my pyjamas before I decided to reply.

‘I’m still awake. I just took a shower. I’m not upset at anything you’ve done.’

It was probably for the best that I didn’t let him linger on the thought that he’d done something wrong. He hadn’t. It was my own fault for letting my guard down around him, thinking that I’d never get feelings for my childhood friend. If that was what I could call him.

‘That’s a relief! I was starting to think that you didn’t appreciate my compliment,’ his reply read, and I couldn’t help but smile at it.

‘I was just so floored by it that I needed a few days to recover,’ I text back, a half lie. From there on out, the texts came a lot quicker than I expected.

‘I’ll be more careful next time. Maybe we could get lunch tomorrow?’

‘Depends. Are you asking me to cook for you again?’

‘I mean, I wouldn’t say no to another hot pot. But I was thinking I should treat you to return the favour.’

‘A free meal? You really know the way to a girl's heart.’

‘Is that a yes?’

‘Sure. I have a day off tomorrow so it’ll be nice to take some time away from cooking.’

‘Well, if that’s the case, maybe I can convince you to give me a complete tour of Lestallum.’

‘As if you don’t already know your way around.’

‘I’ll work on my convincing skills.’

‘You might need more time to prepare.’

‘I’ll start right now. You should get some sleep, you looked exhausted.’

‘I am exhausted. But I’m glad that we’re alright. See you tomorrow!’

The only reply I got was a grinning emoji. I couldn’t help but chuckle at it as I threw myself into the depths of my quilts and burrowed my face into my pillows as I waited for the exhaustion to overcome me and take me into a deep sleep where my thoughts would be far less confusing.

I woke up late the next day, to a knock on my door. I groaned as my eyes inched open, but managed to shuffle to the edge of my bed and pull myself up. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes as I unlocked the door, and sure enough, a very awake Prompto was stood on the other side of the door. He sniggered at me the moment he saw me.

“Morning, sleepy,” he greeted me. “I thought you’d be up by now. Looks like you could rival Noct when it comes to sleeping.” He managed to pull a smile out of me as I opened the door for him to come in. He was quick to make himself at home on my bare floor, and reach for the TV remote. “You should get ready, I’ll keep myself entertained.”

“Alright,” I mumbled in my hoarse voice. I managed to shuffle myself into the bathroom to clean myself up a bit, and I’m sure if I wasn’t so sleepy, I would have felt embarrassed by the way that my hair stuck up, and the imprints of the pillow that were still on my face. It wasn’t like it mattered, particularly. I wasn’t going to be measuring up to Cidney anytime soon, so I might as well embrace how strange I looked.

A few minutes later, I emerged with my hair brushed, my face washed and my teeth cleaned. I was slightly more awake, but I would have given nearly anything to get back in bed. Prompto looked up at me with a smile.

“I’m half ready. I need to get clothes,” I said as I made my way to my backpack, which was still the only place I could keep my clothes together. I really needed to buy more furniture. I pulled out the cleanest pair of jeans I had, along with a tank top before I shuffled back to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

When I came out a second time, I felt like a more together person. I’d managed to scrape my hair back into a messy ponytail, apply some basic eyeliner and get changed. I was comfortable with being seen outside afterwards, so it was somewhat of an achievement that I accomplished it in such a short amount of time.

“I hope you’re planning on something fun for us to do on my day off,” I almost demanded. It was supposed to be a joke, but it came off as more irritated than I’d anticipated. He grinned at me as he pulled himself off of the floor, seemingly unphased by my demands.

“Of course. You get to hang out with me, so the default is fun,” he teased, turning off the television. “You hungry?” he asked and I nodded. “Let’s get something to eat then.”

I quickly grabbed my bag and keys and without giving me a chance to double check that I had everything, he was out of the door. I followed behind him closely, locking the door behind me.

“You want my honest opinion on something?” he asked, and I looked at him with interest as we began to walk. “I think you need to get a couch, or at least a couple of chairs.”

“I haven’t had the chance to do much furniture shopping yet. Well, that’s not true. I’ve had the chance, I just can’t find anything that I really like. I’d rather save my money and wait for something that I _love_ ,” I told him, and he nodded.

“But you have to sit on the floor to eat, or watch TV. You’ll get bad posture,” he insisted.

“I mean, if you’re offering to come with me while I look at furniture that I hate, I’d appreciate the company,” I joked.

“That’s not exactly what I was implying,” he mumbled. “But if you need someone to go with you, then I have some time today.”

“How do you have so much free time lately?”

“Noct has been getting these really bad headaches,” he sighed. I could tell that he was worried about his best friend. “Ignis just suggested taking a few more days to let him try and recover.”

“That seems reasonable,” I pointed out. “The last thing you want is for him to get sick while you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah,” he said, sighing again.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” I tried to reassure him, and he nodded.

“He’s survived worse than a couple of headaches,” he said, attempting to laugh, but it seemed somewhat halfhearted. “Anyway, I have time today if you wanted to go after we’ve eaten.”

“You sure you want to spend that much time around me?” I joked.

“Why wouldn’t I? You make a good subject for my photos,” he teased, nudging his shoulder against my own. It was a simple, joking gesture, but it made my heart begin to beat wildly. I hated it, because it felt like it was the most challenging thing in the world to hide the fact that suddenly being around him made me feel nervous.

I just had to wait for the feelings to wear off, and then things would be okay again. I could go back to asking about the girl he liked, and truthfully answering questions in truth or dare if we had the chance to play it again.

“You alright there?” he suddenly asked, and I realised I must have been lost in my thoughts for longer than I should have been.

“Oh yeah, I’m just thinking about what furniture I’d like to get,” I lied.

“Hopefully we’ll find something that you like,” he said, his voice seemed to be dripping in optimism.

“Yeah, it would be nice to finally get the place decorated a little bit,” I mused. It was then that we were finally outside of the same restaurant as the night before. The Surgate’s Beanmine was a strange name for a restaurant, I couldn’t help but think as we sat ourselves down outside. I looked over the menu eagerly, my stomach becoming impatient.

“Anything you want to eat here?” Prompto asked, as if he was ready to leave if I’d said no.

“Everything. Though the Bird-Broth Rice with Curry looks perfect,” I said, smiling at him and popping the menu back down on the table, my mind made up.

“You read my mind,” he grinned, placing his menu down on top of my own and waving to the nearby waiter. He was quick to put our orders in, accompanied by two servings of sweet iced tea. Once the waiter left, he turned back to me, and I smiled awkwardly, not really know what it was I should say.

“Thanks for treating me,” I finally said.

“That’s alright,” he responded, leaning onto the table. He’d inched closer to me, as he scanned my face, looking for something. I couldn’t quite work out what he was searching for, but I looked away, suddenly uncomfortable by his gaze. “You seem different to usual,” he finally said.

“Is that why you’re looking at me like that?” I asked.

“Something like that. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I murmured.

He looked at me as if he was unconvinced, and I was sure that he knew something was wrong with me. The entire time we’d been together, it felt as if I’d been on edge, careful not to spill my thoughts out to him by accident.

Prompto wasn’t the first person I’d had a crush on. However, there was something different about it. It felt like the strongest crush I’d ever had on a person, but I could do nothing but try and fight it away, and try to convince myself that it only felt so strong because it was such a new feeling.

But as we sat in silence, exchanging glances, I noticed that he was adorable. He was the cutest man I’d ever laid eyes on in my life. The way that the slight breeze ruffled his hair did nothing to help the butterflies at the pit of my stomach. His brilliant, bright blue eyes that were looking over me made me feel nervous in a way I’d never felt before.

“So,” he finally said, wanting to break the silence. “How’s work going?”

“It’s busy, and really tiring. It’s only bar work, but it means I have to work late a lot,” I said, trying to suppress a yawn. Just talking about it was making me tired. “Though, who knows what you get up to when you’re out and about. I probably shouldn’t complain too much,” I laughed.

“Travelling with Noct is not the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I actually enjoy being with those guys. So it’s not too bad.”

“I still can’t believe that you somehow managed to make friends with him,” I thought out loud. “It wasn’t what I expected you’d end up doing with your life.”

“What did you think I’d be doing?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Photography. I obviously didn’t know all that much about you,” I laughed.

“There isn’t much to know,” he said, smiling ever so slightly. “I’m a pretty simple guy. I like photography, I like chocobo’s, and I’m a huge nerd.” He cracked out his sunshine grin as he finished his sentence. “Oh, and I’m afraid of bugs, I don’t like snakes and I’m claustrophobic.”

“And you have a crush on the mechanic,” I pointed out, forcing a laugh.

His face turned bright red at my words, and he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“You’re not going to make fun of me for that too, are you?”

God, my chest hurt.

“No, of course not,” I managed to say, smiling. “It’s kinda cute actually.”

“Oh… I don’t know if cute is what I was aiming for,” he mumbled.

“You never know, she might be into cute guys who like photography and chocobos,” I continued. I was surprised at how convincing my words sounded. Especially considering that the thought of him and the mechanic made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

“Yeah, right. Who’s into guys like that?” he huffed.

_Me._

I shrugged nonchalantly, resting back into my chair.

“You just have to have confidence,” I told him.

“I guess I still struggle with that, even now.”

“You shouldn’t feel bad about it. You can work on your confidence.”

“How?”

I thought about it for a few moments.

“No idea,” I laughed, and his shoulders slumped. “You don’t have anything to doubt about yourself, Prompto. You’re cute, and charming in your own way.”

His face reddened as he looked at me with a squint.

“Did you just compliment me without comparing me to a chocobo?” He glared at me as if he was suspicious, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“I suppose I did. But seriously. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“She could turn me down?”

“And then what?”

He looked at me blankly.

“I… hadn’t given it any thought.”

“If she says no, it just wasn’t meant to be, right? So then you get to carry on looking for ‘the one,’” I told him, air quote included. His glare returned at my words.

“You sound like you don’t believe in that sort of stuff,” he half questioned.

“I don’t, particularly.”

“Why not?”

“I just feel like I should have met them by now,” I said, trying to wave off the conversation.

The truth was that I’d been with so many men in my life that I couldn’t really remember the last time I felt that special connection with anyone. Or even if I had felt it before. At least, not when it came to coming undone at the mere touch of someone.

I wasn’t exactly proud of my life in Insomnia. I wasn’t proud that the only way that I could find fulfillment was through strangers, and their attention and care for a night.

Yet it was a past that I had to keep bundled up deep inside of me, and live with. There was no one I wanted to confide in when it came to my past. And Prompto was probably the last person on that list.

“Maybe you have met them, and you just don’t know it yet,” he said, his eyes boring into me once more.

At that point, our food came, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief. It was placed in front of me, and my stomach grumbled, as if it was reminding me that I needed to ingest what was in front of me as fast as possible.

I wondered what it was I could do to help Prompto. Above what I was feeling for him, I knew that I wanted him to be happy. It felt as if, for a moment, I was looking at my friend from middle school. The person who I wanted to be friends with, and see smile. With a large breath, I sucked in all of the feelings I had for him, and I tried my best to put them to one side.

“I’ll do what I can to help you with Cidney,” I finally said, my voice small and quiet.

His eyes snapped up from his food to look at me for the umpteenth time that day.

“You will?”

He didn’t sound happy, or relieved. He just sounded surprised.

“You’re my friend, right? I’m supposed to help you out,” I told him.

He took a moment to think, biting his lip slightly. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked upset for those few moments before he shook his head and looked at me.

“Then, in return, I should help you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I should help you find someone to make you happy,” he stated as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

“Good luck with that,” I snorted.   
  
With that, we began to eat our food silently, a promise somehow formed between the two of us. The idea of it made me feel uncomfortable, but perhaps, I thought, it would be a good thing. These feelings that I had were going to destroy my relationship with Prompto, and that was something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and thank you for all of your lovely comments lately. I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing. I'm hoping that I'll get the chance to update quite a few more times this week. I've gotten so ahead of myself with writing chapters for this thing, and I'm too impatient to show you all, haha.


	9. Chapter 9

It started to feel quite normal to have Prompto and the others so close by. That’s why, when one morning, I had a text message telling me to meet them for breakfast in the market, I started to feel worried. As I approached them, they were talking amongst one another in a casual conversation. Gladio was the first one to see me, giving me a wave. The three other heads then turned in my direction and mimicked his actions.

“Morning,” I grumbled as I sat down in the empty chair in between Noctis and Gladio. Noctis gave me a look, telling me that he knew it was far too early to be out and about, and that he understood that I was tired. “So, what’s the bad news?”

“How do you know it’s _bad_ news?” Gladio asked, an eyebrow raised in my direction.

“There is no other reason you’d call me out this early unless it was bad news,” I insisted, which earned a laugh from the muscular man.

“It’s not bad news, really,” Prompto mumbled. “We’re just leaving Lestallum for a while.”

“I mean, I didn’t really expect you to hang around as long as you did, to be perfectly honest.”

How long had it been by that point? Perhaps a little over two weeks. They waited for Noctis’ headaches to subside, but they never seemed to, from what Prompto had told me. It was just long enough to get used to meeting up with Prompto every day so that we could eat together, and discuss our plan of action to get him a girlfriend, and to get me a boyfriend.

It had done little to help the feelings that were still ebbing away at my very soul.

I gave a look around the table, and all of them looked uneasy. That was, aside from Gladio, who looked like he carried a quiet confidence.

“Is that everything? You guys look as if you’re being sent off to your doom,” I finally said, a frown adorning my face.

“There’s no point in getting too into the details, but we have to trust someone who is… suspicious, to say the least,” Ignis replied with a sigh. It answered my question enough to leave me satisfied with the answer, but it did make me worry.

I was determined not to let that show. If I was going to be friends with the group, the least I could do was send them off with a smile, letting them know we’d meet again.

“So… when are you leaving?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted to know the answer.

“As soon as we finish breakfast,” Noctis replied, yawning. I knew that he didn’t want to go anywhere because of how tired he always seemed. It was then that suddenly the ground rumbled underneath our feet. The tremors were terrifying in their own way, but they’d been consistent for the last handful of days. I was ready to shrug it off, when beside me, the prince began to wince and clutch his head.

For some reason, the sight made me panic slightly as I thought about what I could do to help him, but as the tremor in the ground came to a stop, he let out a long, exhausted breath and relaxed back into the chair.

“Are your headaches connected to the tremors?” I found myself asking.

“It sure seems that way,” he answered, forcing a smile onto his face. “Let’s eat anyway.”

We all nodded, reaching for the menus and examining them closely. It was my first time eating at the small establishment at the end of the market, and I’d struggle to label it as a restaurant or a diner. It was just a place, out in the open, it’s seating was merely plastic patio furniture that reminded me of the trailer in Hammerhead.

I couldn’t help but smirk as I was reminded of that night in Hammerhead, where we all drank far too much, and partook in one too many stupid dares.

“What are you thinking about?” I suddenly heard Prompto ask as he gazed at me. “We’re leaving, y’know? You shouldn’t be happy about it,” he said as he began to pout.

It was as if he knew he was adorable.

“I just remembered hanging out with you guys in Hammerhead. It was fun,” I said simply, trying not to give Prompto too much of my attention as I looked over the menu.

“The aftermath was not so much fun,” he sighed, slumping against the table.

“We should do that again when we come back,” Gladio suggested. “Just without poisoning two people.”

“I’d appreciate that a lot. Especially since I’m a working woman now. I have bills to pay, and I can’t afford to take a day off of work because you feel like punishing me.”

“Don’t pick dare next time then,” Gladio said as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

“What? So I can have you ask me about my type again?”

“Nah, I’ve given up on that,” he continued. “I’ll have to come up with something else to bug you about next time.”

“Oooh, I can’t wait,” I said sarcastically, which earned small laughs from Prompto and Noctis.

Before I knew it, we’d wasted away the morning eating and talking casually among each other. None of the conversation was of any importance, or consequence, but it was nice to spend the morning with them as they had their last meal before they hit the road.

“Oh, you needed my help with something, didn’t you?” Prompto suddenly said, winking at me over and over again as if it was supposed to be some kind of signal. I frowned at him, completely confused. “You needed help picking something up, didn’t you?” he continued. I wanted to laugh. His acting was terrible.

“Oh! Of course! I almost forgot about that. I’m going to steal Prompto away for a couple of minutes,” I laughed, equally as unconvincing as Prompto. I scraped back my chair to excuse myself, leaving behind the gil for my meal. Prompto was quick to grab my wrist and pull me out of the market hastily and out into the main streets of Lestallum.

It took me a moment to compose myself, as it felt like his hand had left a strange sensation on my wrist as he tugged me along. He didn’t hold onto it for too long before he dropped it and let out a sigh of relief.

“I think we need to work on our acting,” he laughed. As he did so, he covered his mouth with the back of his hand, and I couldn’t help but think he was the most perfect person I’d ever laid my eyes on. I tried to shake the thought out of my head, more than aware that my infatuation was becoming unreasonable.

“Why’d you drag me out here?” I asked as I took to leaning on the wall we were standing by. “You should have text me with a warning so I would have gotten the hint a bit quicker. I thought you had something in your eye.”

He continued to laugh before he joined me in leaning against the brick wall.

“I had something to give you. We’ll call it a housewarming gift. It’s just a bit late,” he continued, pulling something from the inside of his jacket. It was as if he’d had it there all morning, and had been trying to figure out the perfect time to give it to me. I took it from him, unable to hide my smile.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I told him, but inside I was elated. The gift was wrapped in plain, blue paper, as if he’d taken my favourite colour into consideration. “Can I open it?” I asked, feeling almost shy.

“Of course, that’s why I gave it to you.”

Cautiously, I began to tear away the paper. It was almost as if I could feel Prompto’s nerves from beside me as he watched me. As the paper gave way under my fingers, I saw that he’d given me a photo frame. It was relatively plain and inoffensive, but the thing that made me smile from ear to ear was the photo that was on display. It was the photo we’d taken a couple of weeks prior as we overlooked the disc and admired the view. We both had light pink blushes staining our cheeks, smiling ever so slightly, his arm visibly wrapped around my shoulders. It was a freeze frame of the very moment that I’d realised I had feelings for this blond bundle of sunshine, who was, at that moment, looking at me in anticipation.

“S-so, do you like it?” he stuttered. He seemed scared at the possibility that I hated it.

“I love it,” I said, showing him the huge grin that was on my face. “I guess this one turned out better than the one we took in Hammerhead?” I half asked, and he giggled in response before pulling out his camera.

He flicked through what must have been hundreds of photos before he eventually found the picture of us at Hammerhead. He quickly showed it to me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d remembered the photo being somewhat cute, as we pulled ridiculous faces, but we were both incredibly drunk at the time. The photo was completely out of focus, but our intoxicated vision must have told us otherwise.

“No more drunk photos,” I laughed as he put his camera away.

“Agreed. They turn out much better when we can see straight, don’t you think?”

I nodded in agreement, and I turned my attention back to the photo in my hands.

“This was really sweet of you,” I mumbled, smile still pulling at my lips.

“Oh, i-it was nothing,” he said, scratching the back of his neck as he always did when he felt slightly awkward. He seemed so nervous, which was unlike him. At least around me, he’d always seemed rather at ease. After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat and pulled another uncomfortable face. “So, we’ll probably end up going back to Hammerhead to get the car tuned up.”

“Oh… of course,” I murmured. Of course he’d be going back to see Cidney soon. It felt as if all of my happiness had been sucked right out of me, replaced with this empty, and lonely feeling. “So…” I started, forcing a fake smile. “You got enough confidence to ask her out?”

Prompto laughed as if it was a ridiculous thought.

“Nah. I hadn’t even thought about it.”

“That seems unlike you,” I frowned. “I thought that was all you thought about.”

“I have a job I need to do first,” he said, a sternness in his voice that I’d rarely heard. “I have to make sure this trip goes well.”

“That sounds kinda scary,” I admitted, suddenly a lot more worried about the situation that they seemed so secretive about.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to worry you,” he sighed.

“You seem worried. How am I supposed to remain calm and collected when even _you_ of all people seem worried?”

He flashed me a small smile before he pushed himself off of the wall with a sigh.

“It’ll probably be fine. But there’s no sense in just burdening you with the details. You already seem exhausted with your own job. And I don’t think that’s changed about you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning at him.

“In school. You always seemed like you were a bit burdened with other people. Especially me. But you never really complained about it.”

He began to walk away, back towards the market. His words seemed to hold a sadness within them, and I couldn’t help but quickly reach out for him and grope for his wrist. Once I’d caught it, he spun around to look at me in surprise.

I simply shook my head at him.

“Not you. I was never burdened by you,” I said, a certain harshness in my voice to make sure he understood how serious I was.

His shoulders slumped slightly as if a weight had been lifted from them, and I suddenly felt a tightness around my fingers. I looked down to my hand. In my haste to catch him, I’d missed his wrist completely, and instead grabbed his hand and held onto it as tightly as I could. His fingers were gently squeezing my own hand, and it almost felt as if the small gesture was his way of saying thank you.

I lingered for a few seconds as I looked at our hands in a strange state of surprise. As soon as I had a grasp on the situation, I reeled my hand back and held it to my chest, completely unsure as to what I was supposed to say.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, trying my best to keep myself from blushing furiously. I wasn’t sure how much it was working, but Prompto’s small chuckle pulled me out of my thoughts.

“It’s okay,” he reassured me. “I should get back though.”

“I can see you guys off,” I said as I quickly lurched forward to fall into step beside him.

“It’s okay. While I’d really like that, I really, _really_ don’t want you involved in the situation,” he sighed.

“You’re bad at not making me worry,” I told him, nudging him with my shoulder slightly. “Just keep in touch this time. I didn’t hear from you for what felt like an age before you showed up here.”

“I will, I promise.”

“And let me know how asking Cidney out goes,” I joked, managing a laugh. It wasn’t as forced as I expected, almost as if I was sure it would never happen.

“You’re going to be just as bad as Gladio, aren’t you?” he said, giving me a glare, to which I responded with the most innocent look I could muster.

Before we made our way towards the group of three who were still sat at the table talking amongst themselves, I tucked the gift from Prompto away in my bag. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable about giving it to me in front of the others, so I did my best to hide it away. Though in the back of my mind, I almost couldn’t wait for get home so that I could put it on display.

“You took your time,” Gladio said as we approached him, almost as if he was suspicious of us.

“She needed help with moving some furniture,” Prompto said, obviously a lie.

“If she needed help with that, she could have asked someone with actual muscle,” Gladio responded, sending a wink my way. It seemed as if it were on the edge of a flirtatious gesture, but I chose to ignore it.

“I just came to say goodbye, anyway. I should start getting my laundry done before I go to work,” I said. Prompto was stood beside me, fiddling with his camera.

“That sounds awfully dull,” Noctis pointed out.

“You don’t know the half of it, prince,” I mocked, cocking my head to the side to let him know I was joking. I couldn’t tell you when I became comfortable enough to joke with the only royalty that Lucis had left. The more time I spent with Noctis, eating food and laughing the day away, the more normal he became. He was very easy to be around. I wondered how much of that had rubbed off on Prompto.

“Before we go, we should get a group shot,” Prompto grinned.

I hadn’t had my photo taken with any of them besides Prompto before, and I certainly didn’t hate the idea of being a part of their scrapbook of memories. Without even waiting for direction, the group began to scrape their chairs together, and Prompto began fiddling with a tripod that was resting with their bags.

I took my cue, and went to stand behind the three chairs that were grouped together. I’d become somewhat used to Prompto suggesting photographs, or hearing the click of his camera while we wandered around the streets of Lestallum, and I’d quickly learnt that it was a good idea to at least somewhat make an effort in my appearance before I met up with the group. Even if it was just a fresh set of clothes and a bit of eyeliner.

The last thing that I wanted was for Prompto to have an unflattering photo of me.

As he finished his preparations, he looked at us and nodded in approval.

“Alright! Ready or not!” he shouted before jumping from behind the camera to run next to me.

As he always seemed to when we took photos together, he slung his arm over my shoulder to make sure we were close enough for the photo. This time, however, I had to think about why he wanted me so close to him when there was so much space in the frame. His temple rested at the top of my head, and I could feel my heart start to do somersaults in my chest.

I managed to compose myself just in time to grin at the camera, and soon enough, the familiar clicking sound of the shutter made it’s way to my ears. Prompto pulled himself away from me, and it felt strangely lonely once he was gone, and examining the photo.

“I should get going,” I said, trying my best to shirk off the strange feeling he’d left me with. “I have those boring, peasant tasks to attend to,” I continued, giving Noctis a light punch on his shoulder.

“You said it, not me,” he chuckled.

“Take care of yourselves, alright?” I smiled as I moved towards the exit of the dining area.

“And you,” Ignis replied, inching his glasses up his nose.

My leaving was enough to pull Prompto away from his camera, but for a few seconds, he just awkwardly stood there, as if he didn’t really know what gesture he could make as means of goodbye. I didn’t think my heart could have handled it if I’d given him a hug, so instead, I held my fist out towards him. With a wry smile, he approached me and bumped his fist against my own.

“See you soon,” I finally said, showing that I was confident that we’d see each other soon, and in return he gave me a firm nod. Not wanting to linger for too much longer, I turned around and made my way out of the market, and towards my apartment. I didn’t exactly feel happy, but I didn’t feel sad either. In a strange way, I felt excited to get home and pick out a place to display the gift that Prompto had given me. It was going to be the first personal touch that I’d get to put in my apartment, and somehow, it just felt right that it was a photo of the two of us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say I wanted to update more this week, haha. This one is a little shorter than usual, but there may be some longer stuff for you to look forward to this week. Thank you for reading, as always!


	10. Chapter 10

True to his word, Prompto stayed in touch over the following weeks. It was nice to get an update on what it was they were actually up to, accompanied by photos on occasion. They were mostly of his new chocobo companion, which he seemed to be more in love with than he was Cidney. 

While his messages made me feel elated nearly every time I saw one pop up on my phone, it didn’t help to stave off the strange, familiar loneliness that began ebbing away at my heart. It wasn’t entirely dissimilar to the feeling I had in Insomnia. That strange, saddening feeling of desperately wanting attention from someone. Anyone. 

I was, however, determined not to revert to my old self. I threw myself into my work, doing countless hours of overtime and exhausting myself to the point where I would sleep, wake up in time to do my chores, eat something before going straight to work, only to come back and sleep. 

However, my new cycle meant that when Prompto returned to Lestallum for a handful of hours, I was either fast asleep, or at work. We’d missed each other every time, but I told myself it was fine. Maybe it was just helping to get rid of the crush that I was harbouring for him. 

That dangerous, stupid crush.

It was over a month before we saw each other again, and he arrived at the most perfect time. I’d been given four days off of work, and I had no idea what I was going to do with my time. The thought of spending so much time alone scared me. After I’d gotten myself dressed on my first morning off, I’d decided that I was going to head to the market for something to do. I yanked my front door open, and almost jumped out of my skin as I saw Prompto on the other side of the door, his fist raised as if he were about to knock. 

For a few seconds, we looked at each other in surprise, and as soon as he shot me that goofy, wide grin, I felt almost relieved at the sight of him. 

“Surprise,” he said before laughing. 

I wanted to gather him up in my arms and not let him go for the next hour as it finally dawned on me that he was actually there, in front of my apartment. It felt inappropriate at the very best, so I took instead to giving him a half hearted smile.

“Kept me waiting,” I sighed. 

It didn’t take him long to realise that something about me wasn’t quite right. Biting my lip, I stood aside so that he could let himself into my apartment, and he was quick to take up the invitation. Since he’d last been here, my apartment had become much more furnished. I had a couch, a new coffee table and a rug that helped to reduce the amount of echoing my footsteps would produce. Aside from a few small decorations - mainly the fairy lights that I’d tangled around the headboard of my bed and the photo that Prompto had given me - it still looked rather unfinished. 

“You finally got a couch!” he said, more excited about it than I ever was. 

“Yeah. I finally found one I didn’t hate, and it wasn’t too expensive either,” I told him, trying to force some kind of happiness into my voice. At my words, he spun around to look at me, an eyebrow raised. 

“You okay?” he asked, and I couldn’t bring myself to nod at his question. Instead, I just gave him a shrug as I hung my bag back up, realising I wasn’t going to be going out anytime soon. He sat himself on the couch, and patted the empty seat next to him. I took his invitation and sat myself down, though I felt nervous for some reason. I couldn’t help but fidget with the long sleeves of my shirt, or pick at my nails as he looked at me. His face seemed serious, as if he was concerned. “You want to talk about it?”

He asked me so innocently, but he was the last person I wanted to talk to about it. I didn’t want him to know that I was scared of becoming my past self again, and I didn’t want him to know what that would entail. I didn’t want him to know that I’d become dependant on him, and his friends as I settled into my new way of life. That would only serve to burden him further than he already was. 

“I’m just tired from work,” I said, not entirely the truth, but not a lie either. 

He looked as if he was in thought for a moment, before he looked at me again, his serious expression gone. 

“When do you next get time off of work?” he asked.

“Well, your timing is convenient. I have the rest of the week off. I’m not sure what to do with my time,” I told him.

“Perfect! How about we go somewhere for a couple of days?” he suddenly asked, and I couldn’t help but tilt my head quizzically in his direction. “I-I mean, I’ve had an idea for some photos, and you’d make the perfect model!” 

“Me?” I found myself asking. “You sure that Cidney wouldn’t make a better model?” I joked with him, but again, it sent a pang of hurt through my chest. It would have seemed the time apart from him did very little to help my feelings. 

“Nope. It has to be you,” he told me, the serious look on his face for another moment. He didn’t let it linger too long before he gave me a reassuring smile. 

“I mean, I guess that sounds fine,” I mumbled, trying desperately to hide the excitement that was welling up from within me at the prospect of getting to spend time with him. 

“Great! Well, how about you pack a bag and I’ll go and get ready myself? Meet up at the car park in, say, an hour?” 

With a wry smile, I nodded in agreement, and he jumped up from his seat, seemingly excited about the prospect of our little excursion. Before I knew it, he was out of the door, leaving me to think on how I felt for a while as I packed away what I thought I’d need in my backpack. 

I was waiting at the car park for a little longer than I should have been. After I’d packed my bag, and managed a quick shower, I found myself desperate to get out of my apartment. So sat myself on the stairs that lead into the car park, playing a few rounds of Kings Knight as I waited. 

It was only a few minutes later that I heard quick footsteps behind me, and I turned to see Prompto jogging towards me, a bag fixed on his bag.

“Sorry I kept you waiting, we have to go. Right now,” he huffed, running straight past me and down the stairs. It was as if he really wasn’t going to wait for me if I didn’t hurry, so I quickly grabbed my belongings and ran after him, towards the car that I’d heard referred to as the Regalia. He threw his bag in the back seat and hurried to get into the driver’s seat, and I followed his actions, ditching my bag and quickly, albeit slightly confused, I clambered into the seat next to him. As I caught my breath, I looked at him in suspicion. 

“Are you… stealing the car?” I asked, breathing loudly.

“It’s technically not stealing if I have permission from Noct,” he argued, starting the engine and fiddling with the gears.

“Who don’t you have permission from?”

“Ignis. And Gladio,” he said as the car lurched forward. I was quick to plant my hands on the dashboard in order to keep myself from being thrown through the front window. Eventually, after jutting a few more times, he quickly pulled out of the parking spot, and we were off on our strange, spontaneous adventure. 

He actually wasn’t as bad at driving as I’d expected from the way he’d messily tried to start the car going. Once we were on the large stretches of road, the ride was relatively smooth.

“So, where are we going?” I asked loudly, so that he could hear me over the music that drifted from the radio. 

“Hmm, I wonder. We could make a few stops, I think,” he said, slowing the car down to take a corner. I couldn’t help but cling on to the sides of the seat as I braced for the turn, but he took it carefully and without letting the car jut around as he did before. 

“Are you sure Ignis and Gladio aren’t going to be too mad at you if we’re gone for long?”

“I imagine they’ve already realised that I’ve got the car. I’m gonna be in trouble regardless of when we get back,” he laughed, as if he really didn’t have a care in the world.

“You’re not getting in trouble on my behalf, are you?”

“Nope. I want to take these photos,” he insisted, speeding the car up again after hitting another long stretch of road. “Just enjoy it, okay? You’re not allowed to worry about anything until we get back to Lestallum.”

“Can I at least be worried about your driving?” I asked, realising I was still clinging to the seat for dear life. He laughed, but didn’t respond.

It was a good chance for me to just take in the world around me. It felt refreshing to be greeted with these new, and incredible vistas that Prompto must have seen a hundred times over by now. I couldn’t imagine ever getting tired of them.

It was then that my phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see I had a message from Ignis.

‘Are you with Prompto? If you are, can you please make sure he doesn’t damage the car.’

I couldn’t help but giggle at it.

“It seems that Ignis doesn’t trust your driving skills,” I laughed as I began tapping away on the screen. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Prompto pouting.

“I’m not  _ that  _ bad,” he mumbled.

I sniggered slightly as I sent off my response to Ignis, telling him that I’d do my best to look after the car before tucking my phone away. 

“So, are you telling me where we’re going yet?” I asked, finally relaxing into the seat.

“You don’t like surprises?” he asked in response, smirking slightly.

“I’m just curious about what kind of photos you want to take,” I told him.

“Hm? Oh, right. I almost forgot about that. You’ll see,” he grinned. The way he was smiling made me almost suspicious of what he had planned, but I shrugged it off, and enjoyed the view that was passing me by. It was nice to just relax for a while, and it felt especially nice in Prompto’s company. We weren’t talking, particularly, but just knowing he was there was a comfort. 

It was over an hour later when the car finally started slowing down and pulled into a small road that lead through the trees and into what could have only been described as Prompto’s version of heaven. I heard squawking not too far from where I was, though I couldn’t see much until the car finally came to a sudden halt, which threw me forward slightly before I slammed back into the seat. 

With a sigh of relief, Prompto turned the engine off and clambered out of the car.

“You really need to work on your breaking,” I told him, hauling myself out of the car and stretching my stiff muscles. 

The weather that day was beautiful, and I was glad to be in the shade of the trees as the dry heat had almost certainly taken a toll on me while we’d been on our long car journey. It was as I finished stretching that I looked around at the outpost in front of me, and lined up in different stalls were these huge yellow birds that felt almost intimidating.

“Have you ever seen a chocobo in person before?” he asked me as he grabbed my wrist and tugged me out of the blissful shade into the heat of the sun. I couldn’t help but pull back on him slightly as I realised he was taking me right to the creatures.

“N-no,” I said, suddenly feeling terrified of them.

He stopped to look at me with a wide smile, but gently began tugging on my arm again. I think he could tell how scared I was feeling, but his smile never seemed to cease, even as he coaxed me closer towards them. My steps were slow as I approached them, but they seemed docile at least.

As we came to a stop next to one, it suddenly reared it’s head back and let out a magnificent squawk. Instinctively, I jumped, and clung to the nearest thing I could find, which just so happened to be Prompto’s arm. I was almost hiding behind him as I eyed the creature cautiously. He let out a small laugh before he reached over to pat me on the head reassuringly with his free hand.

“It’s just excited,” he reasoned. It flapped its wings slightly, almost as if it agreed with him, and was awaiting our undivided attention. “Look, it’s not going to hurt you.”

He inched closer, and I followed him, refusing to let go of his arm. He reached over to the huge bird and gave it a firm pat on the side of it’s head before he began scratching ever so slightly under its feathers. The bird let out another loud sound, but this time it seemed to be more approving. 

“See?” he finally asked, turning to me. I was still giving the chocobo a suspicious glare, unsure of it’s intentions. 

“I don’t know,” I finally murmured, quiet enough so that it wouldn’t hear me. It was then that I suddenly had a realisation. “You didn’t want me to pose with it for your photos did you?!”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to make you do anything that’ll make you uncomfortable,” he reassured me. “Don’t you think they’re cute though?”

I looked at the chocobo in front of us again, and it tilted it’s head to the side, as if it was curious of my answer. I giggled slightly as it looked at me, and nodded. “I suppose so,” I told him. 

It was then that he slipped his hand into mine and tugged me a little bit closer. I couldn’t tell what was more terrifying. The chocobo, or Prompto suddenly and all too casually gripping onto my hand. He maneuvered me slightly, finally retrieving his arm from my grip and coming to stand behind me, switching his right hand out of mine for his left, which ghosted over the back of my own.

“If I’m not scared, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” he told me in a hushed whisper. I could feel his breath on my ear as he spoke, and it sent a chill down my spine. He began to lift my hand up with his own towards the bird, and I didn’t try to fight him off. He slowly, and carefully came to plant my hand on the side of it’s head, his hand still over my own. 

For a moment, the creature had no reaction. It didn’t hate my hand on the side of it’s head, but it wasn’t exactly enjoying it either. It was then that I wiggled my fingers, as if I was testing the waters, and it let out another squawk of approval and nuzzled it’s head into my hand.

“I think he likes you,” Prompto whispered again, and I could hear the happiness in his voice as he watched the chocobo continue to nuzzle my hand as if it were asking for more attention. Slowly, but surely, I became more confident as I tousled it’s feathers slightly, Prompto’s hand still hovering over my own. 

“It’s really soft,” I found myself murmuring. 

“Right!” Prompto agreed, finally letting his hand fall from my own. Instead, it went to rest on my shoulder, like he was letting me know he was still there and that I didn’t have anything to worry about. 

I gave it another minute before I finally let my arm rest and I let go of the chocobo in front of me.

“I guess it’s not so bad,” I said, turning to him. He had the widest smile I’d ever seen on his face as I spoke, as if he was ecstatic that I finally understood the appeal of his favourite animal. After giving my shoulder another squeeze of reassurance, he released it, and pulled out his camera. 

“Don’t suppose you’d feel okay with letting me get a few photos, in that case?” he asked with his grin still firmly attached to his face.

“Well, when you look at me like that, I’d have a hard time saying no,” I admitted, and he chuckled in response before taking a few steps away from me. 

“If you start to feel uncomfortable, we can stop,” he said as he aimed his camera lens towards me. I turned back to the chocobo, who was looking at me in anticipation, hoping that I’d give it more attention. With a large breath, I reached back towards it, feeling a lot less certain than I did when Prompto’s hand was guiding me.

Before I’d even touched it, it was eagerly thrusting it’s head into my hand, and I couldn’t help but giggle at how adorable it was. I could hear the quiet click of Prompto’s camera from the side, and I began to pet it as I did before, much to the creatures glee. It was only a minute before Prompto put his camera away, and began to pet the chocobo on the other side of it’s head, leaving it to wonder which hand it should nuzzle in appreciation. I decided that I should give Prompto more of a chance with it, so I dropped my hand and smiled at him.

“You want me to take your photo?” I asked with a smile, and he nodded adamantly in response, handing me his camera. 

I tried to think back to all the things he’d taught me in middle school, and all the things that I’d read in the book that he’d leant me. I must have read that book cover to cover tens of times, though I had no reason to. I held the camera up towards him, trying to take the most perfect photograph I could, but it seemed impossible to really capture how adorable Prompto looked as he fawned over the animal in front of him. 

I tried, although I had no idea of how much success I’d had. It was the first time I’d tried using a camera like his, so I could only hope that I’d managed to get something that he thought was worth keeping. Even once I’d stopped taking photos, it seemed as if his attention was still fully fixed on the chocobo.

Maybe Cidney wasn’t my only competition. 

Quietly, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly took a photo of him with my spare hand. It just seemed like a perfect moment that I wanted to capture in my own way. As my phone let out a rather loud click, he finally tore his attention away from the chocobo, and raised an eyebrow at me. 

“It just seemed like a good photo to have,” I told him with a shrug, and he beamed at me as if he didn’t mind. He finally dropped his hands from the chocobo and stretched out his muscles. 

We’d only been there for about fifteen minutes before he let out a loud, yet happy sigh and turned to face me. 

“We should probably start heading off for our next stop soon,” he said, and I couldn’t help but frown at him.

“You have more planned?” I couldn’t help but ask. 

“Of course! There’s a lot I want to show you, and a lot I want to take pictures of,” he grinned before he caught sight of something behind me. I turned to see a gift shop, which had snacks lined outside of it. It was only then that I’d realised I hadn’t eaten all day, and it was getting towards mid-afternoon. “Shall we get some snacks for the road?” he asked, almost as if he’d read my mind. 

I nodded, and we began to make our way towards the small store. I couldn’t help but smile at all of the little things they had on sale, from keychains, to dreamcatchers made with chocobo feathers. They were adorable little gifts, and I decided rather quickly that something from that display would have made an excellent thank you gift for Prompto.

Even though he was insistent that this trip was so that he could take more photos, I knew that deep down, it wasn’t true. It was just a benefit. I could tell that he’d really put his ass on the line to try and cheer me up, and in the process, would be in serious trouble with Ignis when he returned. 

After all, he travelled around Lucis almost every day, and he’d have ample time to take as many photos as he wanted while he was on his journey. I knew that our spontaneous trip was entirely for my own benefit. 

He grabbed a couple of bags of chips from the counter, and looked at me expectantly as I eyed the few bits of merchandise scattered around. 

“See anything you like?” he asked. I bit my lip as I nodded. I actually thought the dreamcatchers were adorable, and I thought it would be a nice memento from the trip. “The dreamcatchers, right?” he asked as if he was reading my mind, and I nodded again.

“I left my purse in the car,” I said, suddenly realising that in my haste to stretch my muscles, I’d left my bag in the car, completely unattended and unguarded. “I’ll be right back,” I told him, quickly turning around and making my way to the car. 

Luckily, it was on the floor of the Regalia, untouched. I leant over the door to quickly pull it out and confirm that nothing had been stolen. I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the people around the chocobo post weren’t thieves. I quickly threw the strap over my head and turned to see Prompto approaching me already. 

“You were quick,” I told him with a smile.

“That’s why I’m called Prompto,” he grinned, holding something out towards me. It was a plain, white paper bag that had been sealed shut with chocobo printed tape. “I got you something,” he said as I took the bag out of his hands. I could immediately feel it through the bag. 

“You didn’t have to,” I said, trying to suppress a smile, but he shook his head.

“It’s worth it when you smile like that,” he told me. I could immediately feel a heat begin to creep onto my cheeks, and a bubble of happiness begin to build in my stomach.

“I still had something I wanted to pick up. Do you mind waiting for a minute?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Take your time. Although, I can’t promise the safety of your snacks if you take too long,” he joked, holding up a bag of chips in my direction and wiggling them in the air as if he was threatening them.

I laughed as I made my way back to the gift shop. I felt like I was ready to start skipping from how happy I felt. Once I was there, I took a minute to look at a few things that were lined up along the walls before finally making my mind up. 

For myself, I bought a mug with an adorable chocobo print on it, just because I couldn’t resist how cute the pattern was. And for Prompto, I decided on a keychain. It was hardly a good idea to buy him something that he’d have to haul around all of Lucis on his travels. So, at least for now, something small seemed like a good idea. At least it had a chocobo on it, so he’d at least appreciate it for that. 

He was already sat in the car when I was on my way back, happily snacking on the chips he’d bought as he relaxed back into the seat. I climbed in next to him, and let out a hefty sigh as I took the weight off of my feet. 

“Get anything good?” he asked, curious about the bag I had in my possession. 

“Hmm, maybe,” I teased him as I adjusted myself in my seat. I dug through the bag for the gift I’d gotten for him and thrust it towards him. For a moment, he looked surprised at the small paper bag that was folded in my hand.

“Is that for me?” he asked, almost sounding shocked. I nodded slightly, and he carefully took it out of my hands.

“It’s not much,” I warned him as he opened it, and his face almost lit up at the small token of thanks. “I didn’t want to get you something inconvenient,” I mumbled.

“I love it!” he grinned, looking at the small gift in his hand. “Thank you.”

“Of course you do, it has a chocobo on it,” I giggled as I played with the bag in my lap. It was then that I realised that I hadn’t properly looked at the gift he’d given to me. I quickly retrieved it and began to pick at the patterned tape. I peeked inside the bag, and of course, he’d bought me one of the dreamcatchers, with yellow chocobo feathers that fell from the bottom. “I almost can’t wait home to put this up,” I told him with a smile. 

He tucked away the keychain in his back pocket, and gave me a smile.

“Gonna have to wait, this is just stop number one,” he informed me as he started the engine once more. “Stop number two… let’s see.”

“You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“I’m coming up with one right now,” he chuckled as he thought. “Wanna get something to eat?” he asked and I nodded. “It’ll be a while, but there’s some snacks for you,” he told me as he leant over into the backseat and found the bag of chips that he’d purchased earlier.

Eagerly, I opened them and started munching on them as slowly as possible. I could have easily scarfed them all down in the space of a couple of minutes from how hungry I was, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted Prompto to see that. Besides, we had a while to go by the sounds of things. 

“What else did you get?” he suddenly asked me, and I smiled, handing him the bag as I chewed my food. He opened it and peeked inside, face beaming at the mug within. “This. Is. So. Cute.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at him as he plucked it out of the bag and examined it closer. 

“I’m almost jealous that you get to buy things like this,” he told me as he looked at it. “I don’t really have anywhere for stuff like this to go anymore.” 

It was only then that he seemed rather sad. I understood why. He’d lost his home when Insomnia fell, and I was sure he didn’t really know what he was going to do once his journey was over. He didn’t have a place to keep a cute chocobo mug, and it was only then that I realised just how fortunate I was. 

“I bought it for you to use when you visit me,” I told him with a smile, trying to reassure him, and he looked at me in surprise. 

“Really?” 

“Of course. No one else I know would want to use it,” I joked, moving to give him a playful punch on the shoulder. He gave me another one of his bright, dazzling smiles as he handed the bag back to me, along with the mug.

“Well, in that case, I should visit more. Can’t let something that cute go to waste, can I?” he giggled, finally looking as if he was ready to start moving the car along.

He took his time in making sure he didn’t lurch the car forward like last time, and we eased away from the chocobo post. In the wing mirror of the car, I saw the adorable bird that just a short while ago I’d been terrified of, and I felt almost sad as it became smaller and smaller. 

“You alright there?” Prompto suddenly asked, and I nodded. “Think you’d wanna come back one day?”

“Absolutely. I have to get over my fear of them properly, right?” I asked, almost a joke.

“It seems you’re a natural with them. That one really liked you,” he noted.

“Well, I mean, I’m me. He’d be crazy not to like me,” I snorted, and Prompto giggled along with me.

“I don’t want to let it get to your head, but you’re not wrong,” he said, leaning towards me slightly to tell me in a hushed tone.

“Eyes on the road, Prompto.”  
  
“Yes, Miss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter. I was testing the waters to see if I could update daily this week, and so far it seems to be going pretty well. Hope you're still enjoying my dumb ol' story. Thanks for reading! <3


	11. Chapter 11

As we made our way to our next destination, I got to appreciate more of the rolling views, and it seemed as if they’d never cease to amaze me. I'd gotten to experience a lot since I'd left Insomnia, though at the same time, it didn't quite feel like it was enough. 

"I have a question for you," Prompto said, forty five minutes into our drive.

"What's that?" I said, turning my attention to him.

"It's probably a bit weird, now that I think about it."

"Too late. I'm curious."

He chuckled as he moved to turn the radio down ever so slightly.

"I was wondering if you still sing," he stated, a sigh following.

"Oh. I do. Just not for other people," I responded. "Truth be told, the bar that I work in now has a few performers work there. I'd like to work up to that one day, I think."

"You mean, like, the bar staff sing?" he asked, seemingly confused.

"Yeah, it's exactly like that. I'm just not one of them right now. I'd have to audition for it."

"You should do it," he suddenly told me. "You were an amazing singer when we were in school together."

I felt a blush start to linger on my cheeks, but this time, it was more because I was happy that he thought so, rather than being flustered by something he'd done. 

"Thank you. I know I told you that you just need to work on your confidence when it comes to Cidney, but I guess I need help with it too sometimes," I told him honestly. 

"You shouldn’t doubt yourself too much," he said as if it was the most simple thing in the world. 

"Same goes for you then," I retorted, and he snorted.

"The difference is you're talented. I'm just… well, me."

He let out a long sigh as he shifted himself in his seat to get more comfortable.

"You want to explain that?" I asked, and he tilted his head to the side, his eyes still firmly fixed on the road.

"It's hard not to feel like I do when you travel with those guys," he said in a hushed voice. "I mean, there's Noct, and he's like, a prince. So you know I don’t measure up there. I'm not as smart as Ignis, I'm not strong like Gladio. And Gladio is just like, so smooth when it comes to women that it makes me feel kinda pissed off sometimes."

I wasn't sure what to say to cheer him up as I bit at the corner of my lip, trying desperately to think of something that would make him smile.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you all of this," he suddenly laughed. "Don't want you to think I'm a loser after all these years."

"You can joke all you want, I'm not gonna think after all this time," I told him. "Besides, you don't have to be as strong or as smart as those guys. You're fine the way you are."

"You really think so?" he asked, his voice a little bit softer.

"Of course I do. But I don't know why you value my opinion. You're like, the closest friend I have, so obviously I think you're great, and I'm biased beyond belief," I giggled.

"I'm your closest friend?"

"Do you see me hanging around anyone else in Lestallum?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

"I'd better be careful then. I don't want to accidentally scare away any potential boyfriends," he snickered, and I gave him a firm punch in the shoulder. He frowned, and took one of his hands off of the steering wheel to rub at his arm. "Ow."

"There aren't any potential boyfriends," I huffed, turning my gaze back out of the window. 

"Really? No one you have your eye on."

"Nope, no one," I responded bluntly.

"You know, I think I understand why Gladio was so pushy with the question about your type. It's like, when you talk about your love life in any way, you close off immediately."

I sighed, trying to think of the right thing to say. 

"Sorry," he quickly said. "I don't want to seem like I'm being pushy."

"It's fine. It's just a subject that's probably best left alone for now," I told him.

"Did anyone hurt you?" he asked all too quickly, in a tone that I'd never heard from him before. "If anyone hurt you, I don't have any problems in kicking their ass."

I couldn’t help but laugh at him, as he was trying to be protective. It made me feel warm inside, but I couldn't let him know that.

"Best to leave that to Gladio," I snorted.

"I'm serious, though. If I have the duty of being your best friend, then I'll have to protect you as best I can," he told me with a firm nod. 

"Well… I didn't say  _ best  _ friend," I said, trying not to smirk at him. 

"It's as good as, right?" he laughed, moving to turn the radio up once more. 

 

We drove for what felt like an awfully long time before Prompto finally pulled the car up alongside a motel and turned the engine off. I looked around at the rather quaint landscape, before turning to him.

"So, where are we?" I asked, but he was already clambering out of the car. 

"This is Old Lestallum," he told me as he raised his arms up in the longest stretch he could possibly manage. I guess driving for so long had taken a toll on him. It was already beginning to get dark, so it seemed as if we'd left the chocobo post at the perfect time. 

There was no way we'd be going any further, not with the dangers on the road at nighttime.

"So, what are we doing here?" I asked, climbing out of the car and following his actions. 

"I thought it might be cool to stop off here to eat at the very first Crow's Nest!" he exclaimed, clearly excited by the prospect. He fanned his arms out at the diner across the road as if it was something I was supposed to be excited about myself. 

I giggled at his enthusiasm. 

"Though maybe we should check into the motel first," he mused. "Just so we can put our bags in there at least."

"That sounds like a good plan," I nodded, and without needing to be told twice, he leant over the back door of the Regalia and scooped up his bag. 

"Well, let's hope they have a couple of rooms left," he said with a wink. "I'd really hate to have to sleep in the car."

"It can't be as bad as camping, can it?" I asked, collecting my own bag, and he chuckled.

"Hm, it probably wouldn't be so bad if it was just the two of us," he laughed as he joined me at my side of the car, nudging my shoulder slightly. 

We approached the man at the counter quickly, our bags thrown onto our backs. "Don't suppose you have two rooms left do you?" Prompto asked.

"'Fraid not," was the response. "Just the one. Twin beds though."

Prompto let out a defeated sigh, as if he was already resigning himself to sleeping in the car that night. 

"I don't see a problem with it if it's got two beds, Prompto," I told him. "Plus, it makes it cheaper for us, right?"

"I suppose that's true. Alright. It's not like we have a choice anyway," he said, smiling slightly. 

After forking over the 300 gil that it cost to rent the room, and collecting our key, we quickly went to ditch our bags. He hardly gave me a second to look at the room before he was tugging on my wrist, eager to get to the Crow's Nest. 

About a minute later we were tucked into a booth, looking over the menus. Despite the fact that Prompto had insisted that this was a cool diner to visit, there was almost no one around aside from the man behind the counter who was fiddling with the radio more than he was doing any actual work. 

"I'm starving," Prompto suddenly whined. "I want to eat everything."

"If you want to eat that much, you're paying for it," I told him with a laugh. 

"Ignis usually tells me that I'm just gonna put on weight if I eat here," he pouted. "But I can't help it. I love the food here."

"Then eat as much as you want. I won't stop you. I also won't help you when your eyes are bigger than your stomach and you waste a bunch of money trying to eat everything."

He sighed, looking over the menu again.

"We are so coming here again before we leave tomorrow."

We ate our meals as we chatted between ourselves, and mostly it consisted of him talking about how much he loved going to the chocobo outpost, and how much better it was to be out in the open than crawling through dark caverns with his friends. I couldn't help but giggle at his complaints, because I knew that as long as he was with his friends, he didn't really mind where he was going.

The night was well and truly underway by the time we'd finished eating, and as we exited the diner that Prompto was so excited about, I looked up at the dark sky and let out a small sigh.

Lestallum was such a bright city that I'd only ever be able to see a few stars dotted around the sky, but on that night, it seemed as if I could see thousands of them. The moon was bright, bathing everything around us in this silvery glow that made everything seem softer.

"What are you thinking about?" Prompto suddenly asked, coming to a stop beside me.

"I'm just looking at the stars," I said happily. The day I'd spent with Prompto had been everything I needed to cheer myself up. It felt that it was so much easier to breath with him around. That was when I wasn't completely flustered by the small gestures he'd make, or the careless things that he'd say. When I wasn't thinking about my feelings towards him too much, things were easier.

"They're pretty, aren't they?" he asked, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah. I wish I got to see them more often."

"When everything is over, we could take more trips like this, y'know?" he suggested, and my heart felt like it was swelling from the happiness it was trying to contain. 

"I'd like that," I nodded. 

"Next time, I have to take you to Galdin Quay. Though the rooms there are expensive, so we'd probably have to get a trailer or something," he mused. 

"What's it like there?" I asked.

"It's like, the most perfect beach I've ever seen in my life," he told me. "The water is this incredible blue, and best of all, the food is amazing."

I couldn't help but smile as he excitedly told me of his experience there.

"I've never been to a beach before," I murmured, finally tearing my eyes away from the star littered night sky. 

"We should make a promise list then. I'll take you to the beach one day! You have to go at least once to know if you like it or not, don't you think?"

"Beaches always sound inconvenient," I told him as we started walking towards the motel.

"Because of the sand, right?"

"Doesn't it get everywhere?"

"Oh yeah, of course it does. But it's totally worth it just to relax by the sea," he said adamantly. "Is there anywhere else you'd like to go?" he asked, but I just shrugged.

"I have no idea."

Really, the idea of going anywhere with Prompto was pleasing to me. 

"How about back to the chocobo post?" he asked with a wink and I snorted at him.

"I think you might like chocobos more than you like girls, y'know?" I joked. 

"Maybe. Maybe not. I can't tell you that."

"You can, you just won't," I said, nudging him with my hip. He stumbled forward a few paces before turning to look at me with a playful grin. 

"Anyway, I'm thinking that I'm going to take advantage of the shower, and watch TV for the rest of the night. Sound good to you?"

I nodded, grinning at him. It sounded beyond perfect. 

By the time Prompto was coming out of the bathroom, clad in pyjamas and rubbing at his hair with a towel, I was already settled on one of the beds, engrossed in a TV programme that I'd never seen before. 

"What are you watching?" he asked, sitting himself on the empty bed not too far from me. 

"No idea. I think it's a drama," I informed him. "I'm going to get changed. You have to update me on what happens while I'm gone, okay?" 

He nodded in response, and I quickly dragged myself and my backpack into the bathroom. It felt amazing to finally get out of the denim prison of my jeans and get into something that was much, much more comfortable. I changed into a rather loose fitting, unflattering t-shirt, along with the slightly tight pyjama bottoms I'd picked out that morning, and quickly washed away the remnants of my make up. After scraping my hair back into a messy bun, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was certainly ready for a few hours of bad TV in bed. 

I emerged a few minutes later to find Prompto equally as engrossed in the show as I was. He was gripping onto his pillow as he sat cross legged on the bed, and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"No more photos today, okay?" I told him as I lay on my bed, positioning myself so that I was lying on my stomach so that I could get a better view of the TV in front of me. 

"Why not?" he whined.

"Because I don't want you having any photos of me where I look like this, obviously."

"Seems like a weak excuse, but I suppose that's fine," he huffed.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Hm, it seems like the girl can't make up her mind of which boy she likes the most," he informed me. 

"How boring," I yawned. 

"Who would you pick?" he asked, pointing to the screen. 

I looked at the men on the TV, and if I had a type, neither of them were it. 

"Neither of them."

"Wow, that was a fast response."

We watched it in silence for a few minutes before Prompto let out a long sigh.

"Love seems really complicated," he said.

"Yeah. I always thought that it was supposed to be the easiest thing in the world," I told him with a sigh of my own. 

"Yeah, me too. It doesn't seem like it works out that way, huh?"

"Well, you'd actually need to tell them first, Prompto," I chuckled. He thought, of course, that I was talking about his crush on Cidney. Of course he did, because he turned a shade of red as he tried to hide his face behind the pillow. I was actually talking about my own feelings towards him.

Not like I'd ever tell him. Not even if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I sighed again, causing Prompto to look at me in confusion.

"You're thinking about something, aren't you?"

"Suppose so."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope."

"Feeling like playing a quick round of truth or dare?" he grinned. "Though this time, you can't pick dare."

I laughed at him once more, thinking that he was an absolute dork. 

"Sure," I said, turning on my side to look at him properly. "I get to go first though."

"I mean, I didn't think you'd actually agree to it. But sure."

"Truth or truth?" I grinned at him.

"Truth, I suppose."

"Are you ever going to ask her out?" I asked.

"Who?"

He looked flustered, as if I'd stumbled upon his deepest, darkest secret. 

"Cidney?" I half asked, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Unless..." I trailed off, thinking hard for a moment before stumbling across the answer. "You like someone else, don't you?"

"You aren't allowed to ask two questions!" he stuttered. 

"Hey, you're minutes away from getting my deepest secrets out of me. I'll even let you have two questions."

He let out an enormous sigh before laying himself down on his bed, facing me. 

"Yeah," he mumbled. 

"You're totally like the girl on TV," I said in awe. 

"And I don't know if I'll ever ask her out," he sighed, his answer seeming half hearted. "She's just so... perfect. And I'm like, the opposite."

"That's not true," I smiled. Though it hurt to hear him talk about her as if she was some unattainable treasure, I kept smiling at him in reassurance. "You have your charms."

"Like what?"

I thought on it for a long minute before coming up with an answer that was appropriate for the moment.

"You seem to bring out the happiness in everyone around you," I told him. "I've never known anyone else to do that."

"Does that mean I make you happy?" he asked.

"Well, I wouldn't have agreed to aid you in stealing a car if you didn't."

He grabbed the spare pillow from behind him and threw it at me, as if he didn't appreciate my joke. I managed to deflect it away from me, and it landed between the two beds.

"Of course you do. I know that you went out of your way to drag me out here because I was feeling sad. It's stuff like that that makes you special," I told him, smiling at him as softly as I could manage. 

"How'd you figure it out?" he asked.

"There's no way you would have hijacked the car just to take a couple of photos," I giggled. 

"First, Noct gave me permission, so it's not stealing," he said firmly, although I could tell he was trying to hold back a smirk. "Second, I hope you're feeling better."

"I am. I really am. So thank you."

"Is it my turn to ask questions yet?"

"I suppose so."

"So, truth or truth?"

"Truth, if I must," I sighed.

"You have someone you like, don't you?" His question felt as if it knocked me backwards, like his words carried actual weight behind them. I wasn't about to lie in a game like this, when he'd been honest before.

"I do," I answered, and part of him seemed a little bit disappointed.

"So when are you going to ask him out?" he chuckled.

"I'm not," I said simply, adjusting my head on the pillow.

"Why not?" he asked.

"That's one too many questions."

"C'mon, you have me curious."

I sighed, realising that I had to admit defeat when it came to his questioning. Maybe it was just something I had to say out loud to understand properly myself.

"Because I'm not particularly a good person," I told him. I could feel my eyes sting as if the words had only just hit me, and I was finally admitting it, not only to Prompto, but to myself as well.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to explain it," I said, flipping back over onto my stomach and paying attention to the TV again, though by this point, the plot of the show was completely lost on me. He didn't try to spur me on to answer his question. He just lay there quietly, and maybe that bothered me even more. "Can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

"Sure."

"How would you feel if Cidney did some terrible things in her past?"

"How terrible are we talking?"

I bit my lip. We were both so aware that the question wasn't hypothetical at all. I knew that I'd never stop asking myself the same questions over and over again if I didn't explain to him what it was that I was thinking. So with a large breath, I began to tell him.

"Say that she was lonely for a really long time. She didn't really have any friends, or family. So she'd use whatever strangers would give her the time to make herself feel better about everything."

"What do you mean by 'use?'"

"Say, for example, she'd... I don't know. This is a dumb question."

"Try me."

I felt nervous, and upset, like my throat would close up at any minute and leave me unable to finish my thoughts.

"Say she'd sleep with anyone who she could. And then if they started getting attached to her, she'd just act like they didn't exist. And if she started getting attached, she'd be terrified of being heartbroken, so she'd act like they never knew each other."

He thought on it for a long moment.

"How would I feel about it?" he mused. "I don't know. I wouldn't think any less of her, that much I can say. But I suppose if she was to tell me all of that, I wouldn't have that many worries about it."

I turned to look at him, and he had a serious look on his face, as if he was really giving the situation all of his thought and attention. 

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if she'd told me about it, I'd say that it meant that she was wanting to change that about herself. Like, I doubt anyone would say something like 'the moment I get attached to you, I'm going to leave' unless they really didn't want that to happen."

I nodded, trying to understand his line of thinking. And it did make sense. I was desperate to change myself when it came to my relationships with men. I just didn't want Prompto to be the test subject if I could even convince him I was worth his time. 

"I don't think it makes you a bad person," he told me, and I let out a half hearted chuckle. 

"It was a hypothetical question."

"We both know it wasn't," he said with a wry smile. 

"Does it change your opinion of me?" I asked, desperate to know that we were still okay.

"Of course not. You're allowed a past, you know?"

"Still kinda feels like I haven't escaped it," I sighed, turning back onto my side. 

"I don't think you should let that stop you if you have someone that you like," he said, smiling at me. "At least one of us should have a happy ending, right?"

I sniggered at him.

"I'm still not going to ask him. He's already got someone else, and I am not going to throw myself into that situation willingly."

"Well, if you already like him, I think you're already in the middle of it."

"Stop trying to sound so wise. You ask Cidney out first," I insisted. "Or your other crush. Who is she anyway?"

"Oh... Her name, right?" he said, pausing for a moment as if he was trying to recall it. "Aranea."

"That's a pretty name," I mused with a sigh. 

"And before you ask, I'm not going to ask her out either. She's like, ten years older than me and she'd totally snap me in half given the chance."

I couldn't help but burst out laughing at his quick confession.

"I didn't know you were into older women," I giggled, trying to compose myself.

"This game was a bad idea," he sighed, blushing as I made fun of him. "So who is it that you like?"

"Even if we are playing this game, I'm never going to tell you."

"That's unfair."

"I'm not giving you fuel to make fun of me with."

"Is it Gladio?" he suddenly asked, and I couldn't help but frown at his question.

"What?"

"It is, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about? No?"

"Oh. Nevermind then."

With that, he focused back on the TV, as if the conversation was well and truly over. I would have tried pressing him on the matter, but I was still confused by his sudden question that I spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out why on earth he thought that I liked Gladio. 

After a few hours of watching TV in silence, we both agreed that it was getting late, and it was time for us to try and get some sleep in preparation for the next day. 

As we turned off the lights and settled into our respective beds, I heard him mumble quietly towards me.

"I can't figure out who it is if it isn't Gladio."

"Don't worry yourself over it, Prompto. It's just a fleeting thing. Probably."

"Oh, right."

"Good night," I said, yawning and burrowing myself under the covers.

"Oh yeah. Sleep well," he told me.

I felt almost thankful when I felt my eyelids dropping out of pure exhaustion. I was ready to forget that the conversation we'd had earlier ever happened. 

_ I could hardly move, paralysed by complete and utter fear. Lying in the mud, the only thing I could do was look up at this terrifying, sword wielding monster that was stood in front of me. It was huge, and disgusting. I could feel a scream bubbling away at the back of my throat, but no matter how much I tried, I could only watch it silently as it stood over me, brandishing it's weapon. _

_ I was going to die.  _

_ I was going to die and I was absolutely powerless to stop it. _

I jolted out of bed, screaming, gasping for as much air as I possibly could. 

Prompto, was quick to respond to my noises of terror by throwing himself out of bed as fast as he could, a gun suddenly materialising in his hand as if it was made from the dim light of the moon around him as it fell through the gaps in the curtains. He scanned the room as if he was looking for any signs of danger before he was at ease, the gun disappearing as quickly as it came. 

My hands were shaking, my forehead had a film of sweat clinging to it.

It was just a dream.

I hadn't had a dream that bad in a long, long time. It felt as if it was real. 

I covered my eyes with my hands and let myself fall back into the mattress. I could save feeling embarrassed for later, at that moment, I needed to calm myself down. I felt strangely vulnerable, and terrified from my dream, and I couldn't figure out why. 

"Are you okay?" Prompto suddenly asked. I felt his weight press down on the mattress next to me as he sat down. 

I could only shake my head as I felt my lip wobble uncontrollably. 

"Did you have a bad dream?"

I nodded, unable to hold back the tears that were stinging at my eyes. I sniffled slightly before letting out a shaky breath, desperately trying to compose myself. 

"Sorry," I said, my voice quivering. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Don't worry about that. Is there anything I can do for you?"

I wanted him to lie next to me and reassure me that it was only a dream. I wanted him to hold me for a while until I felt safe. I just didn't want him to leave me. 

"I'll be fine," I told him, still sniffling. 

"Do we have to play the truth or truth game again?" he threatened with a small laugh.

"No," I choked.

"Then tell me what you want. It can be whatever, I don't mind."

I bit at my lip, finally uncovering my eyes to look at him. His gaze was gentle, as if he really would be willing to do whatever it was he could for me. 

"Then," I sniffed, wiping at my face, trying to catch the few tears that wouldn't stop flowing. "Can we watch TV for a bit together?" I asked him. 

"Is that all you want?" he asked, as if fulfilling such a simple request hardly felt like he was helping at all. 

"Can you stay next to me? I just really don't want to feel like I'm on my own right now."

"Yeah, of course," he said with a grin as he reached over to my face and wiped away a few tears that I'd missed with the pad of his thumb. The gesture was small, but it helped me to feel just that little bit safer. He quickly grabbed the remote that was on the bedside table and handed it to me. I scooted over in the bed as far as I could to make room for him, but the bed was already tiny and only meant for one person. 

I flicked the covers back as an invite to him, and with a nervous breath, he climbed in next to me, pulling the covers over himself. I turned the TV on and flicked through the channels as he settled down next to me, but the dream was still playing on my mind. It felt as if I'd seen into my own future through it, and it made me feel sick. It was as if I really believed I was going to die in such an undignified and sorry way. 

"Do you have enough room?" he asked, and I nodded, wiping at my face again. He looked at me, and it seemed as if he really was pitying me. "Was it really that bad?"

"It wasn't good," I said, sniffing for the umpteenth time. 

"It's a good job I bought you that dreamcatcher then, right?" he joked, and it managed to pull a smile from me. 

"Yeah, I should have used it," I said as I managed a giggle. 

"So, is this all you want me to do?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and with my free hand, I grabbed his. If there was any moment I could get away with holding his hand, it was then. I would have felt rather bad for taking advantage of his offer if I didn't feel like I needed some part of him to cling on to. He smiled at me reassuringly before he laced his fingers through mine in one smooth motion and gave my hand a squeeze.

"Anything else?" he asked.

I gave him the biggest smile that I could muster, which was still rather small before laughing slightly.

"I'm not going to push my luck," I said, resting my head on his shoulder and turning my attention back to the TV. He laughed slightly as he rested his head atop mine, before he let out a yawn.

"I can't promise I'm going to be able to stay awake for that long," he said after his yawn had subsided.

"That's fine," I told him. "Just stay with me for a bit."

"That much I can do."

Strangely, it wasn't him that fell back into a deep slumber first. The exhaustion of the dream soon caught up with me, and I could feel my eyelids become heavy in almost no time. Though, I could have sworn that just before I fell into what I hoped would be a peaceful sleep, I felt Prompto kiss my forehead ever so slightly.

Maybe it was just part of a long, and strange dream that I was stuck in, but, this part, I absolutely didn't mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels so good to be finally making progress with these characters. I've been completely unable to stop myself from staying up until 3am lately just to write a little bit more, haha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for all the lovely comments I've received lately! <3


	12. Chapter 12

When I woke up the next morning, I was still clinging to Prompto as hard as I could. We’d adjusted in our sleep, and my arm was wrapped around his stomach as my head rested on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat as I finally made sense of where I was, but it was quick, as if he was nervous.

Cautiously, I lifted my head to look at him, and his cheeks were dusted with a link pink colour. I was surprised at myself for not completely freaking out when I realised that I was, indeed, sharing a bed with Prompto. It felt surprisingly mundane, as if it was a normality. 

“Good morning,” he said, managing an awkward smile in my direction. “I-I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

I shook my head, unsure what he could have done to get me out of my deep and dreamless slumber, before propping myself up on my elbow and wiping at my tired eyes.

“Sorry, that must have been really uncomfortable for you,” I yawned, not exactly wanting to get out of bed, but it didn’t feel as if it was appropriate to stay. 

“I can think of a thousand things that are worse,” he joked as he shifted himself slightly to get up. 

“Like what?”

“Well, bugs, snakes, small spaces, people being mean to chocobos, being too hot, being too cold, camping, camping when it’s raining especially,” he carried on, only stopping when he heard my uncontrollable giggles.

“You don’t actually have to list a thousand things,” I told him, unable to help my smile. 

“I can keep going all day if you want,” he said with a wink before he finally hauled himself off of the mattress and gave his muscles a stretch. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “How fast can you get ready?” he asked.

“How come?”

“We have to check out in twenty minutes,” he said, quickly gathering the pile of clothes that was his Crownsguard attire and dashing into the bathroom. I could hardly believe we’d slept that long, but with the realisation suddenly dawning on me, I grabbed my bag and began to dig through my few belongings to find a set of clean clothes. 

We were out of the motel without a minute to spare, and our bags were secured in the trunk of the Regalia, just barely managing to squeeze it in between the camping gear that seemed to have a permanent place there. Once that was out of the way, Prompto shot me a grin.

“Breakfast time, wouldn’t you say?” he asked before looking at the diner across the road. “We totally have to get a picture outside with the Kenny Crow thing before we leave!” 

His usual excited self had returned almost instantly as soon as we were given a few minutes to breath, not darting around the motel room in panic as we checked to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind. 

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot that you wanted to go back,” I giggled as we began to make our way across the road to the diner that Prompto loved oh so much. We were quick to tuck ourselves into the same booth as the night before, but this time, there were a few more people scattered throughout the establishment. Most of them were gripping cups of coffee and reading the newspaper printed just that morning. 

Coffee sounded perfect at that moment. 

“So, what’s the plan for today?” I asked after we’d ordered our food, and the bitter cup of coffee I’d been desperate for was sat on the table. 

“Hm, I was thinking we could just go somewhere for a walk before we headed back. I can’t avoid Ignis forever,” he chuckled as he sipped on his sweet iced tea. 

“I almost don’t want to head back,” I sighed.

“You still have a couple of days off, don’t you?”

I nodded, thinking for a moment. 

“Why don’t I invite everyone over for dinner or something?”

“Ooh, are you thinking about making hot pot again? I was telling Ignis about it, and he said he was really curious about what you used for the broth.”

“You think that’ll take some of the heat off of you for apprehending the Regalia?” I asked, and he shrugged. 

“I guess there’s only one way to find out, right?”

“You just really want to eat my hot pot again, don’t you?” I giggled. “How long are you going to be in Lestallum for, anyway?” I asked, and he let out a sad sigh in response.

“I don’t think it’ll be much longer than a week,” he told me. “Then it’ll be off to Altissia.”

“It’s going to be strange knowing that you’re all so far away. I’d kinda hoped it’d stay like it is now, where you’d just randomly show up just when I needed you,” I admitted, a wry smile on my face. 

“We’re coming back,” he told me with complete and utter certainty. “I don’t know how long it’ll be, or where it is we’ll end up going. But we’ll be back before you know it.”

“I hope so. I expect updates. And photos,” I insisted, and he nodded in response.

“Well, of course. So we’ll have to spend a bunch of time together before me and the rest of the guys leave. Alright?”

“Hmm,” I wondered, much to Prompto’s dismay. “I suppose that could be alright.”

“You don’t like to get sentimental for too long, do you?” he sniggered. 

“What? Would you prefer it if I started crying?” I joked before donning my acting skills, or lack thereof. “Oh, Prompto! Please don’t leave me! What am I going to do with my time if I can’t cook my hot pot for you?” I cried, earning me a loud laugh. I don’t suppose the other patrons of the diner particularly appreciated my show, but as long as Prompto was laughing, I didn’t care.

“It’s alright,” he reassured me with a held back chuckle. He reached across the table to give my hand a quick pat. “When I’m back, you can make it for me every day.”

“Oh, thank goodness! I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t said that!” I continued, before I couldn’t hold back my own laughter anymore. “Seriously though, when you’re back, won’t your journey be, well, over?”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” he said as he relaxed back into his seat. He almost seemed sad at the idea of it. “That’s something I hadn’t given too much thought, to be honest.”

“Do you know what you’re gonna do?” I asked.

“I don’t really know. I don’t really have a home to go back to anymore,” he sighed. “I mean, I don’t hate the idea of coming back to Lestallum for a while,” he mused, and I couldn’t hold back the grin that was spreading across my face. “Besides, I already promised to take you to Galdin Quay, didn’t I?” 

“You did,” I smiled, my heart beginning to flutter uncontrollably. It was only for a brief moment, as then I realised that I shouldn’t have been his priority. “But, y’know, I don’t think you’re going to impress Cidney all that much if you don’t spend some time in Hammerhead.”

“You saying that I just need to be around Hammerhead a bunch and then she’ll notice me?” he joked.

“Eventually. You’re hard to ignore, let’s be honest. You’re so loud sometimes,” I giggled. He pouted, as he folded his arms across his chest and hunched himself over. 

It was mornings like that one that made me feel somewhat okay with deciding to help Prompto out when it came to his love life. I told myself that things would work out, as long as I could keep laughing and joking with Prompto the way that I always did. If Cidney was the one who was going to make him happy, then I was absolutely making the right choice, and I knew that eventually the ache in my chest would subside. Once that happened, I could cheer him on with everything I had. I couldn’t wait for that day. 

His pout didn’t stay for too long as our meals were served up and we tucked into our breakfasts, fueling ourselves for the rest of the day before we headed back to Lestallum. I knew that over the past couple of days, I’d made a lot of memories with Prompto that would give me something to look back on while he was away. Perhaps the promise of more trips like that one was something that would keep me going while I waited for him to return. 

As we were halfway through the meal, Prompto looked up at me and asked me a question that I wasn’t at all expecting.

“So, how would you go about asking someone out?”

“You mean, like, on a date, or asking them to be your girlfriend?” I inquired. 

“Either, I suppose.”

I thought on it for a while as I picked at my food, trying to give him an honest answer. Though, truthfully, I’d never asked anyone on a date before.

“Maybe find out about something that they’d be interested in. So, I guess, if I was to ask you on a date, hypothetically speaking, I’d invite you somewhere where you could get a bunch of cool photos, or where you could see chocobos. Y’know?” I tried to explain, as if I’d hardly put any thought into it. 

“So if someone asked you out, what would be the ideal situation?” he asked, putting his fork down and tilting his head to the side as he always seemed to when he was curious. 

I thought about it, frowning as I tried to come up with my answer. Over the last number of years, I’d hardly had the time or energy for any hobbies aside from singing which wasn’t exactly something that could be turned into a group activity. 

“I don’t really know. Maybe I’d be kind of simple and be okay with a good meal and a movie. I can’t really say, I haven’t been on a date in, well, a long time.” He looked at me as if he was slightly confused. “Okay, exercise time. If you were to take me on a date, where would you take me?”

“To see the chocobos, of course,” he grinned, not at all taking the question seriously.

“Let me guess, you’d take Cidney there too, right?” I said, rolling my eyes as I scooped another fork full of food into my mouth. 

“If she doesn’t like chocobos, let’s face it, it’s not going to work out,” he giggled, picking his fork up again.

“Well,” I said before swallowing my mouthful of food. “Why don’t you invite her there when you’re back?”

“I don’t think I could,” he mumbled.

“You don’t have to pose it as a date. If you just hang out with her for a few days, and take an interest in what she does, you could always just suggest going there to hang out because  _ you  _ want to go. That way, if it’s super awkward it’ll save you the trouble of going through an entire date that sucks.”

He thought on it for a moment, shoving his food around his plate as he contemplated my idea. 

“I suppose that does sound kind of reasonable,” he murmured. “I guess I’m just kinda worried that I’ll freak her out by trying to get close to her.”

“Then just try and work out when it’s okay to bug her and when you have to back out. If she’s working and you’re hanging around her, of course she’s probably going to think you’re super weird.”

“Thanks for the confidence,” he said sarcastically.

“That reminds me. Maybe I should invite you guys to the bar I work at before you leave. Get you some free drinks and some entertainment. It’ll be something to go in your scrapbook of memories, at least, won’t it?”

“That sounds kinda fun. Though, I don’t know. You might think I’m super weird for hanging around you while you’re working,” he said, sounding almost exasperated. 

“Shut up, it’s an invite, so it’s fine.”

“Alright. I’ll mention it to the guys when we get back. Speaking of which, we should probably start going.”

“Let me guess, another long drive?” 

“Yup. But you can be in charge of the radio.”

He really wasn’t kidding when he said it was a long drive. Even an hour later, it felt as if we’d hardly moved. It was like the view of the Disc was following us wherever we went, making it feel like we’d hardly made any progress to whatever our next destination was. 

“Are we nearly there yet?” I whined. One thing that the long car journey had done for me was make me more comfortable with Prompto’s driving skills. They weren’t that bad when he could bring himself to pay attention to the road. 

“Hm, still a while to go, I think,” he mused. “You need to stretch your legs or something? I can pull over if you do.”

“No, I think I’m good. I just wish I’d known that we were going to be driving so much. I would have brought something to read with me,” I said, leaning my head on the door. 

“Sorry,” he chuckled. “I’m sorta making this trip up as we go, to be honest.”

“That’s fine. I’m having fun for the most part,” I reassured him. 

I leant over to fiddle with the radio, trying to find something more pleasing to listen to, and after a few minutes of flicking through the stations, I heard a familiar song start playing. I looked at Prompto and gave him the most mischievous grin I could. 

“You… like this song, or something?” he asked, cautious. 

“Sing it with me!” I demanded. He responded by swatting me away and shaking his head.

“No. Absolutely not. No way.”

“C’mon! Don’t make me serenade you,” I whined.

He looked at me out of the corner or his eye, almost as if he was worried.

“You can’t convince me,” he said sternly. 

When the vocals started up on the song, I turned to Prompto, placing my hand on his shoulder as if I really was about to sing especially for him, and he let out a long sigh.

“When the night has come,” I started, and Prompto started shaking his head. “And the land is dark, and the moon, is the only light we see,” I continued, and eventually Prompto tried to hold back the smirk that was creeping on to his face, almost as if he was enjoying my embarrassing display. “No I won’t, be afraid, no I won’t, be afraid, just as long, as you stand, stand by me.”

As soon as I was into the chorus, belting out the notes as well as I could while in the car, Prompto was sniggering, as if my show was hilarious. After I’d desperately sang at him, calling him darling and asking him to stand by me, I laughed, and settled back into the seat.

“Hey, I was kinda enjoying that,” he chuckled, and I gave him a smug look. 

“Well, of course you were,” I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You should really get around to auditioning for that job, you know? You’re even better than you were in school,” he earnestly told me, and I couldn’t help but feel proud. 

“Well, you have to make sure you come back to Lestallum to see me, then.”

“Sounds like a deal to me.”

I didn’t continue my embarrassing serenade. I just sat with a smirk on my face, humming along to the rest of the song. Though it was hard to hold myself back from continuing to sing the song at him, just to see if I could possibly make him feel even more awkward than usual. 

Another chunk of time into our journey and I could feel raindrops start to hit my bare arms, and I looked up to see the grey clouds that had formed overhead. I started glaring at the clouds as suddenly Prompto started panicking, pushing a button that suddenly made the Regalia transform.

“I don’t want to ruin my hair already,” he whined as the roof appeared over our heads and sealed us away from the rest of the world. 

“Looks like a brilliant day for that walk you were talking about,” I joked, and his shoulders slumped. 

“Oh, yeah. Maybe it’ll clear up in the next like, 20 minutes, who knows?”

By the time we were pulling up and parking the car, the weather had gotten a lot worse.  I looked around but I could hardly make out anything through the raindrops on the window. Beside me, Prompto let out a long sigh before he turned the engine off.

“I totally didn’t think that it would rain,” he said, leaning on the steering wheel as he peered out of the window. He looked completely disheartened, as if the rain had ruined the entire trip. “Give me a couple of minutes, and we’ll head back.”

I looked out of the window again, biting my lip before taking a deep breath.

“We are not going to let a little bit of rain ruin our plans,” I told him, pulling on the handle to the car. 

“Wait, where are you going?” he shouted after me and I let myself out into the pouring rain. It was much heavier than I’d anticipated. However, I closed the door to the car, steadfast in my resolve to enjoy the day Prompto had planned for me, weather be damned. At the very least, the rain was somewhat warm as it hit my skin. In a way, it was quite refreshing.

I heard Prompto’s door open and I turned to grin at him as he climbed out of the car, trying his best to shield his hair from the downpour. 

“You’re so going to get yourself sick if you don’t get in the car,” he whined. 

“So? At least I’ll get a couple of days off of work,” I grinned at him before I skipped around to his side of the car, grabbing his arm to drag him away on the walk he’d promised me. As I linked my arm with his and began to walk, he let out a groan, realising he’d be unable to protect his hair from the weather for much longer. “So, where are we?” I asked as we fell into step beside each other. I kept my arm linked with his since he hadn’t made any complaints about it. 

“This is the Vesperpool. Noctis really likes fishing here,” he sighed, giving up on keeping his hair intact and tucking his other hand into his pocket. 

“He likes fishing?” I asked, which received a nod in response. “Hm, maybe I could convince him to get me some fresh fish for a different kind of hot pot,” I mused.

“But the last one was so good,” he whined as we made our way down the muddy path. I was thankful I’d chosen to wear boots for our excursion out of Lestallum. 

“You don’t know, this one could be even better.”

“Well, ask him when we get back, though I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the opportunity to drag us out fishing all day.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” I grinned, tugging on his arm to quicken his pace as we rounded the corner that let me see what must have been the main attraction of the place Prompto referred to as the Vesperpool. It was this huge stretch of water that seemed to go on for as far as my eyes would let me see. “Woah, that’s awesome,” I said, pointing towards the water.

“It looks a bit miserable to me,” he groaned. I looked up at him for the first time since we’d started our walk, and his hair was completely flat, dripping with water. I couldn’t help but smirk at him. He looked adorable, even as he sulked slightly. 

“C’mon, this was supposed to be a fun trip, wasn’t it?”

“Fine. But you aren’t allowed to laugh at my hair,” he pouted. I put a hand to my heart, and pulled a face of dismay towards him. 

“You think I’d do that?” I asked, sounding almost hurt, but my acting abilities gave me away. It was enough to bring a loud laugh out of him, and that, in itself was enough to make getting absolutely soaked worth it. 

“Of course you would. Don’t think you can fool me,” he sniggered. 

The benefit of the pouring rain was that there was absolutely no one else in sight. No one else had been crazy enough to venture out when the rain was so heavy. I wasn’t sure if he’d bought me to a place that was usually flowing with people, or if it was usually just as empty. However, I was almost thankful for the rain that was seeping through my clothes, because it allowed me a short while with Prompto as we existed in our own quiet happiness. 

It was just a short while though. A short while of taking in the views, laughing with my closest friend, walking with our arms linked. 

“We should probably start heading back soon,” he told me, almost seeming sad. 

“I thought you’d be happy to get out of this weather,” I smiled, wiping away what I could from my face with my soaked hands. 

“Oh, I am. But it was fun hanging out with you for such a long time,” he admitted, and I couldn’t help but grin at him. 

“First trip of many, right?” I asked, and he nodded before he finally tugged his arm out of mine and gave his limbs a stretch. 

“Wanna race back to the car?” he said with a wink, and before I could even reply, he’d turned around and taken off down the path. 

“Not fair!” I yelped, chasing after him as fast as my legs would carry me. It seemed like a fruitless experience as he was so much faster than I was. He was laughing loudly as he easily outran me without much effort. 

Just as I was about to shout at him telling him to slow down, he stumbled slightly, almost falling face first into the mud underneath him. It forced him to slow down quite a bit as he avoided running into a huge rock in front of him. I saw my chance, and pushed my body to pick up the pace even slightly. 

I overtook him successfully, taking my turn to laugh, but he was quick to start sprinting after me. 

“No you don’t!” he shouted, a laugh still evident in his voice as he grabbed me around the waist with both of his arms to yank me to a halt. We’d both completely stopped, as he pulled me into his chest, both trying our best to catch as much breath as we could. I turned around to give him annoyed look, but his arms that were holding me didn’t shift, even after I was facing him. 

I realised how close we were at the same time that he did, and our faces both turned that awkward shade of pink that I somehow felt used to adorning around him. Even after he’d realised it, he didn’t let me go. We just stood, looking at each other in our close, confined space, trying to breath. 

Biting my lip, I desperately fought off the urge to wrap my arms around his neck and bring him into a kiss I knew he didn’t want. My hands found their way to his shoulders to cling onto them for a brief moment as he swallowed the lump that was lodged in his throat.

I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as me before I chuckled slightly to myself. 

Of course he wasn’t. There was absolutely no way that he wasn’t wishing that it was Cidney who was with him. Or Aranea. Or anyone but me. 

I reached up to his head with both of my hands and roughly rustled his hair, causing it to stick up in all different directions. At my actions, he quickly let me go, trying to flatten his hair back down. I took the opportunity to start running again, back towards the Regalia. 

Despite his cheating, I was the first one back to the car, but he wasn’t too far behind me. Though, to be honest, it wouldn’t have been unfair to say that I’d cheated right back in retaliation. 

“And you say I’m unfair,” he breathed, seeming almost annoyed at me as he came to a stop outside of the car. He quickly unlocked the door. “Get in,” he told me as he went for the trunk. 

I did as he told me, ringing out my hair as much as I could before I clambered into the warmth of the car. It wasn’t too much longer before Prompto joined me, opening the door and climbing in with an exhausted sigh. It was then that he turned me, and dumped a towel on my head. It was clearly what he’d gone to the trunk of the car to fetch, and I was thankful for the warm, fluffy material he’d given me. 

After rubbing my hair as dry as it was going to get, I wrapped it around my shoulders and took in a deep breath. The towel smelt sweet, almost like vanilla. With his own towel, he dried off his hair, leaving it a lot flatter than I’d ever seen it, yet it was somehow fluffy in it’s own way. 

“I have an idea for you,” I said, biting my lip slightly. He looked at me with his tilted head, telling me he was intrigued. “You should take Cidney on a trip like this one.” The idea almost broke my heart, but I was sure it was the right thing to say. 

“Why?” he asked, seemingly confused. 

“Because I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun in my life,” I told him, with the biggest, most genuine grin I could imagine, a slight laugh in my voice. He returned the grin with his own, but eventually managed to shake his head.

“I don’t think so. This was a trip just for us,” he chuckled as he tried to dry off his arms. 

Just those words made me want to cry. I was lucky to have Prompto as my closest friend, and I could tell that he, in some way, cherished our time together. Perhaps he even thought it was special, I couldn’t tell. 

“Well, if this was a date, then I would have been super impressed,” I laughed. He looked at me for a moment with serious eyes, but eventually went back to smiling as he always did. “You should have more confidence. I hardly ever have fun,” I joked. 

“Like I told you, fun is the default when I’m around,” he beamed before eventually tucking his towel underneath him to try and keep the seat as dry as he possibly could. “You ready to go?” he asked.

“Hm, not really. But it’s probably better not to keep Ignis waiting. And I suppose a bath sounds like the most perfect thing in the world right about now.”

“You cold?” he asked as he reached over to turn the heat in the car up. 

“Oh yeah, I’m totally going to get sick,” I laughed.

“It’s your own fault. I was ready to take you home, away from the rain.”

“I wasn’t ready to go home,” I pouted. 

He smiled at me before he reached over to tousle my hair slightly. “Let’s go,” he giggled.

Without another word, we were off, back to Lestallum, and I felt rather sad that our trip was coming to an end. It was then that I realised I was a day closer to seeing Prompto off as he left Lestallum to finish his journey. It was a sad thought, but I tried not to let it play on my mind too much. When he came back, we could go on more trips together, and that would be enough to keep me going while he was away.

As we pulled into Lestallum’s car park, I let out a content sigh. As the car ride had gone on, I’d become increasingly uncomfortable in my jeans, and I was desperate for that bath I’d mentioned to Prompto earlier. 

It seemed as if the moment we were out of the car and stretching the long journey out of our limbs, Ignis was on us, giving us an unimpressed glare.

“Before you say anything,” Prompto started as he approached Ignis slowly, holding the keys out towards him. “Noct totally said I could take the car.”

“Yes, I’m aware,” he said, snatching the keys up and pushing his glasses up his face. “Well, the Regalia appears to be in one piece. So I suppose I’ll let it slide just this once.”

Both myself and Prompto gave him huge grins of thanks, and he looked between us with a frown.

“What happened to the two of you? You both look filthy.”

“We might have gotten caught in a rainstorm,” I giggled. “I really do need to take that bath.”

“That sounds like a great plan,” Prompto beamed at me as he made his way to the trunk to retrieve our bags. He handed mine to me before slinging his own over his shoulder and closing the trunk. It was only then that the trip came to an end as the three of us began to walk back towards the centre of town. 

“Oh, before I forget, I wanted to invite you and the others to my place this week,” I told Ignis. 

“What for?” he asked, seemingly curious.

“Well, I thought it would be fun for us to hang out again, and Prompto seems desperate to eat my hot pot again,” I chuckled.

“Ah, yes. That hot pot that he keeps mentioning. I’d be interested to see in what you use for the broth,” he contemplated. “It seems like a fine idea.”

“You guys free tomorrow?” I asked, hopeful. 

“I should think so. We’re just taking a short break in Lestallum before we head of to Altissia, so we don’t have too much planned until we leave.”

“Well then, I’d like to invite you all over for dinner tomorrow,” I grinned, and Ignis nodded. “Say, around 6pm?” 

“That should be fine,” he nodded, and I almost couldn’t wait for it. 

“Well, be sure to let me know if you’re going to be late,” I giggled as I began to almost skip off in my own direction. “See you tomorrow!” 

That afternoon, I made sure to treat myself to a bubble bath that I hardly ever used, as I always felt like it was trying to save it for a special occasion that never seemed to arrive. After I was out of the bath, clean and in my comfortable pyjamas, I picked up my phone and lay myself down on my bed. I decided to give myself a chance to look at the few photos that I’d taken of Prompto at the chocobo outpost, and as soon as the picture illuminated my screen, my heart started pounding uncontrollably as the events of the trip caught up with me.

I thought about how Prompto held on to me as we stood in the rain at the Vesperpool. I could have sworn that he was thinking the same things that I was in that moment. I could have sworn that he was thinking that if we were ever going to go any further in our relationship, that was the perfect moment. Was I just crazy? There was no way he felt that way about me. Right?

It was hard to argue with myself when I thought of how tightly he was holding on to me, and how his arms seemed to wrap around my waist so perfectly.

That being said, I was probably just too caught up in the moment. I shook the thought off, and clambered out of bed, deciding to get myself ready for the upcoming visit from Prompto and his friends. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so far succeeding in my plan to post everyday this week, and I have to say, I'm really enjoying pushing myself to write this. I hope you've been enjoying it so far! :D


	13. Chapter 13

At 6pm, on the dot, there was a knock at my front door. With a smile, I skipped towards the door and pulled it open to see Prompto, Ignis, Gladio and Noctis all stood there with smiles on their faces. 

“Hello,” I cooed happily, pulling the door open wide enough so that they could let themselves in. “I was just about to start on making dinner.”

“Perfect timing, then,” Ignis smiled. “I was hoping I’d be able to assist you. I’m somewhat of a cook myself.”

“I’d be glad to have your help,” I grinned. As they filed in, I was handed an array of gifts from each of them, as if they were small tokens of thanks for having them over. Ignis presented me with a bag with fresh vegetables in it, clearly intended for the hot pot. Gladio handed me a bottle of wine, grinning at me as he glided past me and into my apartment.

Noctis frowned and pulled an uncomfortable face as he handed me a heavy package, wrapped in brown paper and string. 

“Uh, Prompto said you wanted fish?” he half asked, seeming confused by his own gift. I couldn’t help but giggle at him, giving him a nod in thanks.

Prompto was the last to let himself into my apartment, brandishing a small bouquet of flowers with the largest grin I’d ever seen from him. He seemed almost excited at the prospect of our evening together with his closest and best friends. 

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I told them as I tried desperately to balance everything in my hands, trying to move the wine under my arm to accept the flowers from Prompto, but it seemed to be an impossible task. 

“I’ll take these into the kitchen for you,” Prompto laughed as he plucked the bottle of wine out of my hands and sauntered past me. 

I kicked the door shut and quickly followed him, placing down the heavy package of fish and giving myself a chance to poke through the bag of vegetables from Ignis. 

“I bet you don’t have a vase, do you?” Prompto suddenly considered as he looked at my closed cupboards, trying to guess where I’d keep such a thing.

“I have a jug somewhere,” I smiled, reaching up for the cupboard above me, and finding a glass jug that would absolutely not complement the array of pretty flowers that Prompto had given me, but at least it’d keep them alive for as long as possible. I offered my hand to him, and he quickly handed the flowers to me, and placed the wine down on the counter that was already littered with ingredients that I’d laid out. 

“You can go and chill out with the others for a bit. Dinner’s going to be a while,” I told him, and he nodded as he squeezed past me. 

“Don’t forget to let Ignis know when you start cooking,” he reminded me as he left me in the kitchen on my own. I could hear the light conversation float between the men, and it made me feel happy, having my first group of guests over to entertain. 

I’d barely gotten the wrapping off of the flowers before Ignis poked his head in through the door.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, seeming almost eager.

“You could debone the fish for me, if you’d like,” I said as I opened the drawer nearest to me to pull out a pair of scissors for me, and a pair of pliers for Ignis. 

“Of course. I’d have done it beforehand if we’d had the time,” he said as he took his gloves off and plucked the pliers out of my grip. After getting rid of his jacket, hanging it on the radiator behind him, he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and began to work on the package. 

While he worked on making sure that the fish was as bone-free as it possibly could be, I worked on trimming the stems of the flowers. Once that was done, I filled the jug with water, added a little bit of sugar and began to arrange them until I was happy. Even by the time that was done, Ignis was still nowhere near finished with the fish. 

To be fair, I’d given him the most painful job, and the one I hated the most. 

I cleaned up the remnants of the flowers, and quickly took them into the other room, placing the jug down on my bedside table. 

“Do you need any help?” Gladio suddenly asked me, and I turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

“There is no way you actually want to help me,” I snorted. “Besides, I have Ignis, so this should be smooth sailing. You want anything to drink?” 

“You could bring out that wine, if you’d like,” Gladio said with a wink, as if he were trying to coax me into the idea, and I nodded. As I turned to get back into the kitchen, Ignis was already stood there with an opened bottle of wine and three mugs. 

“I guess I really need to invest in some proper glasses,” I giggled as Ignis placed the bottle down on the coffee table, along with the mugs. Prompto was quick to snatch one of them up.

“This one is mine!” he said excitedly as he grinned at the chocobo print mug from our trip. I shot him a smile before I disappeared back into the kitchen alongside Ignis. 

“Ah, I hadn’t thought about using sugar in the broth,” Ignis mumbled as he watched me. “Do you have any mirin? I think that would be a good addition,” he told me, and I thought.

“Ah, yeah. I almost forgot. The last time I made it I didn’t have any and it really was missing something,” I said as I leant over and plucked up a bottle tucked away at the back of my kitchen counter. “Well, that’s the sauce done,” I smiled as I added a reasonable amount of the rice wine. 

After grilling the meat slightly, we started to work on adding the different ingredients. After adding the leek, the cabbage, the different types of mushrooms, the noodles and the cubes of tofu that were garnished with slices of carrots - which, by the way, Ignis had cut into the most adorable flower shapes - all we could do was wait for it to be ready. 

Without giving myself a minute to rest, I pulled out another pot, ready to start on the second lot of food for the evening.

“Ah, were you planning on making one with the fish from Noctis?” he asked, almost as if he’d read my mind perfectly. 

“I don’t want to let anything go to waste. Besides, if you guys don’t eat everything, I’ll have leftovers for a while,” I giggled, excited at the idea of trying out something new. “You can take a break if you want so that you can eat.”

“That’s alright. I don’t mind helping,” he smiled. 

“Well, I at least have to insist you go and have a drink with everyone else while I prepare the fish. That’ll take a little while,” I told him, placing my hands on his shoulders and turning him around to shove him out towards his friends. 

“If you insist.”

With that, I was left alone with the aroma of the hot pot, and the sounds of conversation from the other room, accompanied by the bubbling of the broth on the stove. Rolling my sleeves up, I began to season the fish in front of me, but there was far too much for me to cook in one go. Whatever monstrous fish he’d caught, I’d have to save some of it for later. 

After putting half of it in the fridge, I heard footsteps on the wooden floor behind me. I turned to see Prompto peeking through the door, bottle of wine in his hand.

“I thought you might want a drink,” he said, giving it a slight wiggle as if it would be more enticing. 

“Sure,” I said, giving him a smile as I made sure that all of the fish I was planning on using had salt rubbed into it. I quickly washed my hands and fished out one of my few remaining mugs. I held it out towards him as he poured a generous amount of the liquid out for me. “Thank you. Oh, and thank you for the flowers, I don’t think I said it before. They’re really nice,” I smiled, sipping at my drink before giving a hum of approval. “I can’t remember the last time I was given flowers as a gift. Maybe my graduation?” I contemplated as I leant on the counter, giving the hot pot a glance. 

“Well, I’ll make sure that you don’t have to go too long without them again,” he giggled as he leant over to look at the food. “It looks even better than last time,” he said, although I could have bet it looked identical to the last one. 

“Hungry?” I asked, and he nodded adamantly. “It’ll only be a couple more minutes.” I sipped at the wine before turning to dig into another cupboard, this time for a mat for the pot to sit on, and all the bowls I owned. Luckily, it was just enough. I handed them to Prompto, who immediately knew that he was the one who had to set the table. His shoulders slumped, but without complaining, he span around and headed out of the door again. 

After a few more minutes of letting the hot pot cook, it was as perfect as it was going to be. I turned the heat off and hauled the large pot into the other room, placing it on the mat that was laid out on the coffee table. As the boys got their first glimpse of their meal, they let out impressed sounds.

“You want to be careful, Iggy. She might get your job if you don’t watch out,” Noctis joked, nudging his friend beside him who looked displeased to say the least. 

With my hard work already rewarded, I turned back to the kitchen with a loud yawn.

“You’re not eating yet?” Gladio asked and I shook my head.

“I have to get to work on dish number two,” I grinned.

“You should at least have something,” Prompto insisted. “You should eat with us since you invited us over.”

It wasn’t exactly a difficult task to convince me, as my stomach was eager to get it’s fill after spending so much time preparing the damn thing. 

“Alright, I’ll have a little bit,” I smiled, turning back to them and placing myself down on the floor in between Prompto and Gladio. I served myself up a little bit of everything from the pot after the rest of them had gotten what they wanted, and there was hardly anything left. My dreams of leftovers had been squashed rather rapidly.

“Thank you for the meal,” they all chimed, one after the other before they tucked into their meals. After a few moments of silence, I saw the surprised looks on their faces, as if they really were impressed by the food. I felt a surge of pride wash through me, and I gave a small smirk before starting to eat it myself.

“I can see why Prompto was so impressed,” Ignis said, after he’d swallowed his mouthful of food. “I could probably recreate this,” he mused, and I pouted.

“You’re so not allowed to take away my best meal from me,” I whined, earning a laugh from both Noctis and Prompto. 

“It really is better than last time,” Prompto grinned as he chewed his food. 

His compliment made me almost dizzy from how happy I felt. I just grinned at him in return before wolfing down the bowl of food in front of me as quickly as I could, eager to give the second dish of the day a go. 

I was the first to finish, placing my bowl down and giving a content sigh before I hauled myself up off of the floor. 

“Prompto, you’re on washing up duty,” I informed him with a grin, and his shoulders slumped yet again.

“Why me?” he whined.

“Because I know you the best. It’d be rude to ask anyone else,” I giggled. 

“Does anyone want a new best friend?” he teased in a sing song voice. “I have one that I’m not too fond of at this very moment.” I gently kicked him in the leg as he sniggered.

“You don’t want to become my least favourite person in this room either. They’re on washing up duty too.”

I couldn’t help but notice the way that Noctis watched us, and tried his best to hold back his uncontrollable laughter. I flashed him a grin before I turned back towards the kitchen. 

“Help yourselves to the rest of that, if you want. I’ll be in here,” I informed them as I tucked myself back into the kitchen and giving myself the chance to breath for a second. Then, it was right back into cooking. 

Ignis was quick to help me, though the dish was relatively simple. Prompto was on my other side, letting out unhappy groans, letting me know that he was not enjoying his job for the evening as he cleaned out the bowls, and rinsed off the chopsticks. 

This hot pot was a little different to the one before, with Ignis having the amazing idea of making the broth with miso. It hardly took any time at all before we’d come up with something that smelt amazing, and managed to use all of the ingredients I had at hand. I was excited that we’d come up with something new, and I think I was the one who was most looking forward to trying it. 

Once it was fully cooked, Ignis took in the second pot of food, and I heard impressed noises, especially from Noctis. With a smile, I scooped up my mug of wine and turned to Prompto, who was just finishing drying all of the bowls. 

“Ready for round two?” I asked, and he grinned at me.

“It better be worth it, because washing up is the worst thing ever,” he laughed. 

“I’m sure there are a million things worse than washing up dishes,” I giggled as we exited the kitchen. 

“This looks awesome,” Noctis told me, already looking eager to help himself to a serving. 

“Thanks. I hope it tastes as good as it looks,” I smiled at him as I sat myself down on the floor again, Prompto handing me a clean bowl and a pair of chopsticks. The group graciously allowed me to get first dibs on the food, and I allowed myself to take a good chunk of it since I’d hardly had any of the last hot pot and they’d managed to eat their way through it with ease. 

As their eyes fell on me, waiting for my opinion of the dish, I tentatively popped a piece of the fish in my mouth and I had to admit, Ignis was some kind of genius when it came to food. The fish had absorbed the taste of the broth, and it was absolutely delicious. I could only nod to them, telling them I approved as I started eagerly nibbling away at the vegetables in my bowl.

Once we’d eaten our fill, the hot pot was well and truly empty, destroying my dreams of left overs for a second time that day. We all leant back, trying to get comfortable from the amount of food we’d eaten. 

After just a few moments of silence, Gladio was the one to pipe up.

“Both of those were delicious. Thank you,” he said, sounding the most genuine he ever had. 

“Thanks for giving me an excuse to make them,” I smiled back. With a sigh, I leant over the table and began to collect up the dishes, finally feeling ready to clean the table a little bit to make the place at least a little bit more presentable while I had company. 

Ignis was quick to his feet as he helped me to carry everything that needed washing into the kitchen. We just put them in the sink and left them. Cleaning that up would be a job for tomorrow, but I was determined to spend the rest of the evening in their company until they eventually got bored of the situation. 

“I have another gift for you,” Gladio said mischievously as I sat back down.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so nervous at the idea of a gift,” I told him, but it was almost as if he hadn’t heard me.

Before I knew it, he’d presented me with a paper bag, inside, a bottle of the same lucid green liquid we’d drank in Hammerhead. I couldn’t help but giggle as I pulled it out of the bag, already having a good idea of what he was suggesting. It had barely been an hour, and 7pm seemed a little early to start drinking, but I decided that since it was my day off, it was fine.

“Truth or dare, then?” Prompto asked with a grin. 

“Don’t get too happy, it means you need to help me wash the mugs,” I chortled. 

He responded by splaying himself out on the floor in protest and making a disgruntled grumble.

“I’m so full, though,” he whined. 

“I’ll help you,” Ignis sighed as he pushed himself up off of the couch. 

“Yay! Ignis!” Prompto cheered as the tall figure stepped over him. With a defeated sigh, I rose from my seat on the floor and collected the empty mugs.

“You spoil him,” I said firmly, looking at Ignis. 

“It’s because he knows you’ll go easy on him. I’m just saving you the trouble,” he retorted, inching his glasses up his nose. 

“Don’t blame me!” I almost shouted. “It’s not my fault!”

“Noct,” Prompto whined from the floor. “Mom and Dad are fighting.”

“Don’t you start,” I joked, giving him another light kick before turning and going into the kitchen, Ignis following closely behind me. 

After an uneventful five minutes of making sure the mugs were clean, we were back in the living room, each with a drink of the sour green alcohol.

“We should do one shot just to loosen up,” Gladio suggested, holding his mug up in the air. I nodded in agreement, and mimicked his actions, followed quickly by the others. “Cheers!”

We clinked the mugs together and each quickly drank our shots, almost all of us pulling faces immediately afterwards. 

“Right, I think we should make it so no one can chicken out of dares,” Gladio grinned. 

“So literally everyone is going to choose truth then?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at them. 

“And you have to drink every time you answer a question,” he continued. 

I didn’t have any complaints with that rule at the very least. 

“I’d like to add a rule. No stupid drinks,” I told them, and Prompto was quick to nod in agreement. Of course he was. He was the only other person who shared in my suffering back in Hammerhead. 

“Fine. So, where should we start?” he asked, his eyes scanning the three men. His eyes then landed on me, and he gave me a devilish grin. “Truth or dare?”

The first few rounds of the game passed by rather uneventfully. No one picked dare, and the questions that were asked were tame and almost boring. That was until we had more to drink, and started losing common sense about the questions that we were asking. We weren’t so drunk that we were slurring our words, but tipsy enough to get the awkwardness out of the way. 

“Truth or dare?” Noctis asked Prompto. 

“Hmm, truth, I think.”

“I got one!” Gladio yelped, leaning himself on the coffee table to get a better view of his target. “Who do you prefer? Her, or Cidney?” he asked, a knowing look in his eye.

Prompto wasted no time in slinging his arm around my shoulders and bringing me in for some kind of half hug. “This one, of course,” he beamed, almost as if it was no question. I snorted, shoving him away.

“You’re gonna give me the wrong idea if you say shit like that,” I laughed, trying to calm myself down. I knew he was saying it as a declaration of our friendship, but the question stung a lot more than it did when Gladio had asked him in Hammerhead. 

Gladio let out a sigh, almost as if he was dissatisfied with his answer. “Your turn,” he said, turning to me.

“Truth, then.”

“Hmm,” I heard Prompto consider. 

“Who here would you most like to make out with?” Noctis suddenly asked, and my eyes widened at his question. I leant back on my hand, taking a drink as I pretended to consider the question. After downing the shot, pulling a face and sighing. I scanned the four faces in front of me, all of which were looking at me out of curiosity.

“Prompto, I guess,” I sighed. I tried to make the answer seem like it was something I’d never considered, but it was something I’d thought about, perhaps even fantasized about before. Even admitting it in front of him made me want to smirk, but I bit the corner of my lip to suppress it.

I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him, terrified of his reaction. 

“Gladio?” I asked, trying to move the situation along as quickly as possible. 

As he considered his answer, I poured myself another drink, trying to avoid looking at Prompto, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see he was looking at me. His face was stained with a light blush, his eyes wide in surprise. I decided not to give it anymore attention as I leant back again.

“Dare,” he said, and we all let out our impressed noises at the first dare of the night.

“Two words,” I threatened. “Leg. Wax.”

Noctis let out a long, loud laugh before composing himself. “No backing out, right?” he chuckled. With the dare silently agreed upon, I dashed to the bathroom and retrieved the wax strips that were tucked away under my sink. I came back, brandishing the box in his direction with a stupid grin attached to my face. 

“Do your worst,” he challenged me. 

“Prompto, get your camera out,” I said confidently. “I’m going to make Gladio cry.”

After a few minutes of heating up the wax strips in between my hands and Gladio rolling up the leg of his trousers, we were ready to start. Noctis was the one who seemed the most into the idea, and Prompto was stood silently, his camera at the ready. 

I started concentrating on smoothing out the wax strip over Gladio’s shin, making sure that I was doing everything as I was supposed to. As soon as I was ready, I grabbed one of the edges, and gave him a look. 

“You ready?” I asked, and just as he opened his mouth to respond, I yanked on the strip as hard as I could, pulling it right off of his leg. 

“Fuck!” he shouted as he recoiled his leg, pressing his hands to the now smooth patch of skin on his leg. “That was unfair,” he told me with a frown. 

“We have to do the rest of it, or otherwise you’re just going to have this weird patch of skin,” I teased him, and he glared at me.

“Fuck, no.”

His confidence was shot, and I felt a surge of pride well up within me. He may not have cried, but the fact that he was at least a little bit in pain after his awkward question to Prompto was enough for me. 

“Ignis?” Prompto asked. 

“I could do a dare, I suppose.”

Gladio was the first one to snicker. “Why don’t you give him a makeover?” he asked, turning to me. “And Prompto can put his photography skills to the test again with his brand new model.”

I looked to Ignis, who sighed, clearly regretting his choice already.

“I promise to make you look beautiful,” I smiled, scrambling off the floor again and going to fetch my makeup bag in the bathroom. As I passed by Prompto, who was still stood, holding onto his camera, he gave me a nervous smile. Maybe my answer to the question earlier had really worried him. 

I tried to ignore him as I retrieved my makeup, and I planted myself in the middle of the couch between Ignis and Noctis. Before I started, I knocked back another drink, and then set to work on his face. Beforehand he tucked his glasses away in his front pocket, and I’d never realised how unlike himself he would look without them. 

After a few, long minutes of fiddling with Ignis’ face, applying foundations, and eyeliner, giving him a smoky eye and a tiny bit of lip gloss, my work was done. I’d probably put more effort into making him look even more unlike himself than I ever did with my own appearance. 

“Woah, Iggy, you’re kinda hot,” Gladio joked, as he looked over my handiwork. 

“This is quite uncomfortable,” Ignis complained. “My mouth feels sticky.”

“Prompto, it looks like it’s your turn,” Noctis said as he stood up and stretched his muscles out before wandering over to sit himself on the floor, giving Prompto ample room to work with.

Out of all the dares, this one took the longest. Ignis clearly was enjoying no part of this, and it looked like even Prompto felt bad for trying to capture the moment in a photograph. He insisted he’d keep going until he could get something flattering, leaving myself, Noctis and Gladio waiting for them. 

It was then that Noctis tapped me on the shoulder. After he got my attention, he whispered to me as quietly as he could. “Can we talk for a minute?”

The question sounded almost ominous, but I nodded. 

“We’re gonna go and get more drinks,” Noctis told me as we both rose off of the floor. Without leaving any room for anymore questions, we quickly shoved our feet into our shoes and darted out of the door. 

Once we were out onto the street, and wandering towards the nearest place we could acquire more drinks, Noctis turned to me and gave me a small smile. 

“You totally like him, don’t you?”

For a moment, it felt like time had just completely stopped. His small smile didn’t falter, almost as if he was trying to reassure me that it was okay.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” I managed to stutter, carrying on down the street at a quicker pace.

“I’m not going to tell him. But you like Prompto, I know it.”

I glared at him as he jogged to catch up with my pace. 

“You’re not going to tell him?”

“What? No,” he said, shaking his head. “I think you should tell him though.” He shoved his hands into his pockets as we carried on walking down the street. 

“Yeah, that seems like a brilliant idea. I absolutely want to be compared to Cidney, the person who he actually has a crush on,” I said sarcastically. I let out a sigh, figuring that there was little point to holding back when it came to the topic. “It’s fine. I don’t think I’d be a very good girlfriend to him, so I just have to wait until I get over it.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I dunno. He seems so innocent,” I said, considering it for the first time. Really, I couldn’t come up with a good reason as to why we wouldn’t work together. We got on so well, he made me feel the happiest I ever had, and he was perhaps the most considerate person I’d ever met. “Maybe I just don’t deserve him.”

That was really the case of the matter.

I didn’t deserve him. 

“You’re both hopeless,” Noctis sighed. 

“You mean, because he won’t tell Cidney that he likes her?”

“Something like that.”

We fell into a silence that felt like it was eating away at me. If Noctis knew, I was sure that Prompto would be quick to figure it out. 

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. But if you want advice, I’d be careful about picking dare later on tonight.”  
  
“What? Because the questions you can ask me now are _so_ much more appealing,” I said sarcastically as we dipped into the nearest store that sold alcohol. I had the feeling I was going to need a lot more of it to get through the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think with this chapter, I've managed to accidentally complete a NaNoWriMo in the wrong month. Oh boy, I feel like I'm having flashbacks to November.
> 
> I hope you're still enjoying, and thank you so much for all the comments lately. I adore reading your reactions to this thing <3


	14. Chapter 14

After myself and Noctis were back into the apartment, we were straight back into our game of truth or dare. I was throwing back drinks as quickly as I could get away with, eager to forget my conversation with Noctis and the worries that came along with it. 

“Prompto, it’s your turn,” Gladio reminded him.

“Dare,” he said.

“You must be feeling confident considering what just happened to Ignis and Gladio,” I mumbled.

“Give me your phone,” Gladio grinned.

“What for?”

“I’m going to send a text to a person of my choosing,” he laughed. 

Prompto’s shoulders slumped, but he dug his phone out and slid it across the coffee table towards Gladio. After a few minutes of tapping away at Prompto’s phone screen, he let out a long sigh and cleared his throat. 

“Hey, Cidney,” he started.

“Please tell me you didn’t,” Prompto whined bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead on top of them. 

“It’s Prompto. I was just wondering if you’d like to go out on a date with me sometime,” Gladio stated proudly, sliding the phone back towards its rightful owner, who peered at it, his cheeks practically on fire. He hid his face back behind his knees again. 

This game of truth or dare was slowly becoming my worst nightmare. 

“Your turn,” Noctis chimed towards me, trying to bring me out of my thoughts, but it was hard to take my eyes away from the phone in front of me, that indeed confirmed that Gladio had sent that exact message. 

“Dare,” I said, almost challenging Noctis’ earlier statement. 

Gladio was quick to open his mouth, but Noctis held his hand out, saying that he wanted first dibs on picking out my punishment. 

“Who was it who you said you wanted to make out with again?” he said, a glint of evil in his eyes for a brief moment. I shook my head at him, silently begging him not to carry on that line of thought. “Kiss him.”

Prompto’s head shot up from it’s resting place, his face perhaps even redder than it was before. He looked as if he was on the brink of a meltdown from how overwhelmed he was. I could tell that my face was just as red as his, and I hid it in my hands for a few moments before letting out a long, exasperated sigh. 

“I hope you know that I actually hate you right now,” I told him with a glare before I took my drink, hoping it would give me just a little bit more courage. 

It didn’t.

Prompto looked at me, almost looking like he was about to cry. He always seemed so innocent, that I had this horrible moment of wondering if he’d ever even kissed anyone before. I genuinely couldn’t work out what I was supposed to do, because it almost felt as if I was forcing myself on him, though with the rules of the game, it didn’t leave me with much of a choice. 

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and quickly typed a message on it before sliding it over to Prompto. It simply said ‘Trust me?’ I looked at him as he read it, and he nodded slightly. 

“Just one more drink,” I said, pouring myself another shot of the apple drink, and knocking it back. 

Alright. I could do it. 

I scooted over towards him, suddenly aware that Gladio and Noctis were watching us intently. Ignis looked as if he had no desire to be a part of the situation. Swallowing the lump of nerves that had lodged itself in my throat, I leant over towards him, gently cupping the side of his face. It was burning hot. 

With one last breath, I planted a brief, but firm kiss just on the corner of his mouth. It shouldn’t have counted from how much of a cop out it really was, but I’d done it. 

I sat back down, and Prompto was looking at me, his fingers slightly hovering over the spot where I’d kissed him. He looked surprised, but not entirely unhappy. 

“Your turn, Gladio.”

I could feel Noctis staring at me, and as I looked at him, he shook his head slightly. I couldn’t bring myself to care, as my heart was beating wildly and my hands were shaking. I couldn’t think of the last time a man had had such an effect on me.

A few more rounds passed by rather uneventfully. That was until it was my turn, and just as I was about to pick what it was I wanted to do, Prompto’s phone vibrated on the table.

He scooped it up, almost eagerly, and froze as he read the message on his screen. He was so eerily still and quiet that it caught all of our attention almost immediately.

“What’s wrong?” I found myself asking, my words not nearly as clear as they were earlier. 

“She said yes?” he almost asked, showing me the message on his phone from Cidney, almost like he was asking me to confirm it. 

‘Sure, that sounds like it could be a lotta fun,’ the message read, and my heart felt like it had just stopped dead. 

Gladio let out a small cheer for his friend. “Alright, Prompto! I knew you had it in you.”

“Yes, very well done on getting someone else to pose as you and ask her on a date,” Ignis quipped, and I couldn’t register anything that was happening around me. The first thing I did was give Noctis a horrified glance, and he looked right back at me, equally as troubled. 

Oh, how I couldn’t handle it when I was so drunk. 

“C-congratulations,” I managed to stutter, though my voice sounded empty. I looked at Prompto, and he didn’t look at all like I’d imagined he would when he finally got that date with Cidney. He just looked stunned. Not happy, not even remotely blushing. Just completely stunned. 

“Are you crying?” I heard Gladio ask me, his voice a lot more serious than usual.

“What? No! I’m just so proud of him!” I lied, trying to hide the shaking in my voice with a fake excitement. 

I wanted the ground to swallow me up whole and I wanted to be out of this situation as quickly as I could be. 

“Truth or dare?” Gladio asked me. 

“Dare,” I said, confidently, hoping that Noctis would reissue me his challenge. I looked to him, and he sat up slightly as if he was about to speak, as if he completely understood what the look I gave him meant.

This time, I wouldn’t hold back. 

I’d kiss him properly, and show him that I couldn’t just let him go on his date without him knowing how I felt. I couldn’t speak the words at him, but I could show him, I thought. 

“Go on a date with me.”

I looked to Prompto, hoping to the gods that he was the one who spoke, but his surprised look that had been fixed on his phone changed direction towards the man who was sat to the other side of me. 

I slowly turned my head. 

Gladio was sat there, a hint of a blush on his cheeks.

I couldn’t speak, I could only look at him in pure, complete, utter terror.

“What?” Prompto asked, sounding concerned. More concerned than he ever had.

“She heard me.”

“And that’s the game, right? So she has no option but to agree?” Noctis suddenly asked, sounding more annoyed than I’d ever heard him. His arms were folded across his chest, and he huffed back into his comfortable position in the cushions of the couch. 

I didn’t know what to say.

I felt sick, like every drink I’d slammed back that night had caught up with me all at once. 

“I…” I started, unsure as to what I should say.

“You really don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Prompto reassured me in a quiet whisper, earning him a glare from Gladio. 

“I-it’s the rules though, right?” I said, forcing an unsure laugh out of my mouth as I looked at Prompto, trying my hardest to smile. I knew that my eyes were tearing up, and I couldn’t wait for them to leave. I genuinely could not wait to be alone so that I could bawl my eyes out and forget that the day had ever happened. 

Maybe my feelings were just overworked from how much alcohol was swimming around in my system, but I felt like I was just about to break.

A silence fell over us as my stomach made a hideous noise at me, as if all of the alcohol had caught up with me at once. 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I managed to mumble as I scrambled up from the floor as ran to the bathroom. I couldn’t even manage to lock the door behind me before my head was over the toilet bowl and I was throwing as much of the bright green liquid back up as my stomach would let me. 

“Gladio, have I ever told you how much of an idiot you are, sometimes?” I heard Noctis yell at him. “We’re going. Right now. You’ve probably made a complete mess of her night, so you need to apologise to her tomorrow and take back that stupid dare.”

He seemed to be on a verbal rampage as he defended me, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. Maybe he was silently cheering for me when it came to Prompto, I couldn’t tell.

“I can’t leave her on her own when she’s like this,” I heard Prompto protest. 

“He’s right. It’s not a wise idea at all,” Ignis replied.

“Then you stay with her, Prompto.”

“Do you… do you think I could at least wash my face first?” I heard Ignis ask, and I’d completely forgotten that he still had a full face of makeup, and the thought cheered me up for a very brief moment as I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth, desperately trying to hold my stomach back for a few seconds. 

I managed to find a packet of wet wipes that I kept by the sink, and I quickly crawled over to the door, pulled it open just enough to push them outside before closing again and making my way back to the toilet for round two. 

There was a moment of silence before a few footsteps towards the door.

“Thank you very much,” I heard Ignis say as gently as he could through the door. 

“We’re going, now. Tell her thank you for us, Prompto,” I heard Noctis say, as the front door creaked open, and he was followed by two sets of footsteps before it closed with a loud click. 

There was a minute when I heard Prompto sigh, and his footsteps approach the bathroom door. He tapped the door slightly, trying to get my attention.

“Are you okay in there?” he gently shouted through the door. 

“Is yes a believable answer?” I asked, realising that my stomach couldn’t take much more of the dry heaving and retching. I flushed the toilet and scooted back away from it, not exactly confident enough to leave the bathroom quite yet. Instead, I placed my back against the bathroom door, and let out a sigh. “You can go. I’ll be fine,” I shouted to him, suddenly feeling the weight of all my emotions crushing down on me. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said in what was supposed to be a gentle and reassuring tone, but all it served to do was break my heart even more. I couldn’t hold back the tears as soon as he spoke, and I was just thankful that he couldn’t see me as I curled up against the door and tried to stifle my sobs. 

I knew that he could still hear me sniffling, and I listened carefully as he perhaps sat against the door as I was, it was hard to tell. 

“You know, Gladio really likes you,” he said, trying to sound gentle, but there was a hint of something else in his voice. “He hardly stopped talking about you after Hammerhead.”

There was a silence, as I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. Was I supposed to be happy? Because I just felt empty.

“He’s not the one you like, though, is he?”

“No,” I managed to whimper. 

“You gonna come out of there?” he asked. “I can look after you a little better if you do.”

I was still so drunk, and I could barely see straight. I sniffed a few more times before pulling myself off of the floor, wobbling slightly as I tried to balance myself. 

“Okay,” I said, my voice shaking. 

After a few seconds of wiping at my face, I slowly pulled the door open, only to be met with Prompto quickly scooping me up into his arms and giving me a tight hug. With one of his arms wrapped around my waist, his other hand came up to cradle the back of my head ever so gently. He just seemed content to give me a place where I could cry without being able to be seen by him, but he was still able to comfort me in whatever small ways he could. 

“Do you really not want to go on this date?” he asked after a short while. I’d managed to maneuver my arms around him to cling on to the back of his jacket as tightly as I could, while I kept my face buried in his shoulder. 

“I’m scared,” I told him honestly. 

“What of? Gladio is an asshole sometimes, but he’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Not him. Just of being who I used to be,” I sniffed.

“So you don’t want to go on the date with him?”

I shook my head.

“Because he’s not the one you like?”

I nodded.

“And you don’t want things with him to go too far?”

I nodded again.

His grip on me tightened slightly as he began to stroke the back of my head.

“You know, you’re really adorable,” he mumbled. 

“Why would you say that?” I asked him, my heart feeling heavier than usual. 

“Because you are, obviously. I think that you’ll be okay,” he reassured me. “I think the fact that you’re so upset about this is okay. Because surely that means you’ve graduated from being your old self, right?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly as I started to pull away from him. I knew that my makeup was a mess, but I just needed to wipe the sticky feeling off of my face. As I looked at Prompto for the first time in a while, I tried to smile at him, but just the mere sight of him hurt my chest. The tears that I was trying so hard to hold back just wouldn’t stop falling

“It’s not just Gladio, is it?” he finally asked as he moved his hand to wipe away the tears that were streaming down my face. “It’s Cidney, right?” he asked as if it was nothing.

I tried to look at him, ready to lie to him and shake my head, but he already knew. 

“I guess I’m not going to be as useful to you anymore. You don’t need me,” I sniffed. 

“I’ve already told her that it was my friends pulling a prank,” he told me as if it was the most simple thing in the world. My eyes widened at him, and he pulled away from me briefly to pull his phone out. He quickly found the message and showed it to me, a wry smile on his face. 

Indeed, he was telling the truth. I could hardly read it through my drunken haze, but sure enough, he’d turned her down.

“Why?” I asked, frowning. 

“Because,” he said. “I think I got my feelings for her mixed up.”

“With what?”

“No idea,” he chuckled. “But when she said yes, I just felt… weird.”

“What do you mean by weird?”

“Kinda sad. Like it wasn’t right.”

“I can’t figure you out,” I told him, and he chuckled slightly. 

“I think I’m just happy for now, being with my friends. I was serious earlier. I’d pick you over her any day of the week.”

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?” I said accusingly.

“Oh, yeah. But not as drunk as you. C’mon, let me get you some water.”

He sat me down on the couch and brought me a glass of water, which I was more than thankful for. 

“Oh god,” I said, finally wiping away the last of my tears. “I have to turn him down tomorrow,” I moaned, already hating the idea of it. 

“That is a tomorrow thing, and not a right now thing,” Prompto told me. 

“Wait, so should I be trying to help you date the older woman?” I suddenly asked. “Or is there someone else you like?”

“We’re not playing anymore, I don’t have to tell you,” he teased, sitting down next to me. “You wanna watch TV and pretend tonight never happened?”

“More than anything else in the world.”

It was strange how the layer of alcohol that was swimming around in both of our bodies got rid of every awkward barrier that there ever was between us. We didn’t even have to ask each other what was okay. We just settled down into the depths of the sofa, his arm wrapped around me, my head resting on his chest as we watched whatever it was that we could focus on. 

“Hey, Prompto,” I finally said a handful of minutes later as I was drifting off into a deep sleep.

“What’s up?”

“How would you feel if I went on that date with Gladio?”

He took in a large breath, as if he was trying to delay his answer. Eventually he let out a chuckle, and shook his head.

“Not that great,” he admitted. “I guess kinda similar to how you felt.”

“You make it seem like you’ve been helping me get a date for the last two months.”

“I guess I’d feel like I was in the way, then.”

“You’d never be in the way,” I reassured him, nuzzling my head against him and wrapping an arm around his stomach, giving him a tight squeeze. 

The only reason I had even almost enough courage was because I was still dizzy from the alcohol, but I somehow felt that it was okay when Prompto’s free arm came to grip onto mine, almost as if he was scared that I’d be going somewhere. It hardly felt like any time at all before I was fast asleep, wasting away the hours until my hangover would be in full effect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm weirdly proud of myself for managing to post every day this week. It's like I'm actually making the most of my free time, haha. Thank you for reading! You'll have to let me know if you're enjoying the daily updates or if you think it's a bit much, hehe.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, I could feel the awful pounding in my head before I even opened my eyes. I’d overdone it, that much was certain. As I inched my eyes open, cursing the sun for daring to be up at 11:20, I looked around the room. Prompto was nowhere to be found, and I’d somehow made it over to my bed during the night. Somehow, I was lying across the double bed that I had, taking up every inch of it that I possibly could. 

With a groan, I propped myself up on my elbows. On my bedside table was a glass of water and a couple of painkillers, ready for me to consume. Prompto must have left them there for me, I thought. I leant over, eager to hydrate myself as much as I possibly could, and almost screamed when I saw a figure, completely passed out on the floor beside my bed. 

I was ready to start cursing at him, shouting at him for scaring the shit out of me, but as I caught his peaceful, sleeping face, everything subsided. He hadn’t even grabbed one of the many pillows I had on my bed to use for himself. He had, for some reason, just curled himself up on the floor beside my bed and gone to sleep. 

Even though he looked so peaceful, it felt wrong to just leave him on the wooden floor to sleep. After taking the painkillers and downing the glass of water he’d left for me, I leant over the edge of my bed and poked him in the arm. 

He hardly responded. 

Sighing, I started shaking him slightly, and slowly he started to come out of his state of unconsciousness. His eyes adjusted to the light, and with a squint, he looked at me. 

“Morning,” he mumbled, curling up into a ball and closing his eyes as if he was ready to sleep again.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” I asked. “There’s a perfectly good couch.”

“Just wanted to make sure I was close by in case you got sick,” he murmured, still refusing to open his eyes. 

“Get up. You can sleep here,” I told him as I made a move to get up. It was my last day off from work, and I wanted to make sure that my apartment was clean and my chores were done so that was one less stress to deal with. I just wanted to do anything as long as it stopped me from thinking about the prospect of dealing with Gladio. 

He didn’t argue as he crawled up from the floor and fell into the bed, landing face first in a mountain of pillows and covers. He barely managed to completely get himself onto the mattress before he was fast asleep again. 

I couldn’t help but smile at him as I forced myself up and looked around at my apartment. Along with the makeup that was left strewn about the floor, and the wax strips that had somehow spread themselves around all about the place, there were ample amounts of empty glass bottles and dirty mugs. 

I spent the next half an hour making sure everything was cleaned up and put away, and I was thankful that the painkillers had kicked in rather quickly. After forcing myself to eat a couple of slices of dry toast and drinking a cup of sweet tea, I found myself in the bathroom, standing under the warm water of the shower. 

It was only then that I let myself think about Gladio, and what I was supposed to do.

No part of me really wanted to go on a date with him. Yet, at the same time, I found myself wondering if it would have been a good test for me. 

Regardless of the fact that Prompto had turned down his date with the mechanic that I believed he really adored, I still found myself conflicted. I felt as I did in Insomnia, desperate for attention. Desperate for validation. Desperate for someone to think that I was worth a damn. I was desperate for someone to fall in love with me for just a night.

Maybe, I thought, Prompto was the person who had been giving me most of those things without the awkward morning after. He’d been there to tell me that I deserved to be happy. He’d given me all the attention I could ask for. His friendship was my validation. 

But he wasn’t in love with me. 

Maybe that’s what I was looking for above everything else, I considered as I washed the conditioner out of my hair and turned the shower off. As I clambered out of the shower and wrapped myself in a towel, I looked at myself in the mirror.

I was a mess. Even after my shower there were still remnants of my makeup stuck to my face, my hair was tangled and knotted, and I looked pale. 

One thing at a time, I thought.

Slowly I got myself together, cleaning my face properly, brushing out my hair, cleaning my teeth and finally dressing myself in the same clothes from last night. They were uncomfortable and crumpled, but I supposed that it was okay for the moment. 

With a sigh, I nodded to myself in the mirror.

That was the moment that I decided that I would go on the date that Gladio had all but challenged me to. If he’d liked me since we’d met in Hammerhead, then maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. But more than anything, it was a test to myself. A test to not get carried away, and our date would be the time that I decided if I was going to be steadfast in my feelings for Prompto.

Gladio was handsome, that much I could say with certainty. Aside from that, he was almost the complete opposite to Prompto in every way. If I found myself feeling anything towards him, then I could say that my feelings for Prompto were just fleeting. Lingering, but overall fleeting. 

I left the steamy air of my bathroom, and searched for my phone. I was met with a handful of text messages. 

The first was from Noctis.

‘Thanks for having us over. I’m sorry that things turned out so weird. If you want to talk about anything, just let me know. I mean, I’m the only one that knows everything, right?’

The second was from Gladio.

‘Sorry about last night. I was out of line, and got carried away.’

Biting my lip, I quickly typed a reply to Gladio.

‘Are you free today?’

I sat myself on the couch, trying my best not to look over in the direction of my bed where Prompto was still soundly sleeping. I didn’t have to wait too long for a reply.

‘I am, why?’

‘Well, let’s go on that date then. I don’t back down from a challenge.’

Another few minutes ticked by before he replied again.

‘You really don’t have to. Don’t worry about it.’

‘Give me a place and a time.’

This reply took longer for him to formulate. I could see that he was typing a reply, only to delete the whole thing and start again. 

‘Want to meet at The Leville at about 4?’

‘See you then.’

That gave me a while to relax, wondering if it was a good time to disturb Prompto and get him something to eat and drink. Eventually, I decided on getting myself ready first. It gave me a good chance to go through my entire collection of clothes, eventually deciding on a black dress, decorated with dark pink flowers and green leaves. I locked myself away in the bathroom as I got myself dressed, and spent far too long pouring over my makeup. Eventually I decided on a rather simple look, the only thing remotely flashy about it being the matte lipstick that matched the colour of the flowers on the dress. 

Once I’d covered up all of my blemishes with foundation, I thought I looked okay. Reasonable enough for the date, at least. 

My phone buzzed on the counter in the bathroom, and I peered at it, seeing another message from Noctis.

‘I have to say, you have me completely confused.’

Biting the corner of my lip, I sighed. 

‘I’m just confirming something for myself.’

His reply was hasty.

‘You know, if you’re trying to get rid of your feelings for Prompto, I don’t think this is a great way to go about it.’

I couldn’t help but chortle at his response. Maybe in his own way, Noctis was supporting me as best he could. I never would have suspected that from him of all people. 

‘It’s not that. It’s hard to explain, but it’s not that.’

As I thought about it, I really didn’t have any desire to get rid of my feelings for Prompto. The way that they made me feel was uncomfortable at times, but it was almost nothing compared to how much they made my heart swell from trying to contain how much happiness it was trying to contain.

I just needed to make sure that they were as true as they possibly could be. 

Once I was ready, I left the bathroom again, but this time, Prompto was awake, looking at me, almost in awe. 

“You look nice,” he commented, sounding almost suspicious. “What’s the occasion?”

With a sigh, I sat myself down on the edge of the bed, and gave him a wry smile. 

“I have a date,” I told him simply, trying to gauge his reaction.

He looked more confused that he did anything else.

“I thought…” he stopped himself as he thought of what he was supposed to say. “I didn’t think you liked him.”

“It’s not that. I’m just testing myself,” I sighed.

Prompto already knew about my past, and he didn’t seem as if he judged me for it, so there was no point in trying to lie to him. He knew that I was testing myself of my new resolve, but he didn’t know that at the same time, I was testing myself on my feelings towards him. 

With a smile, albeit a small one, he nodded in understanding.

“Well, Gladio’s a lucky guy. At least for today.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, and he shook his head. 

“N-nothing. You’re just really pretty,” he said shyly, and I could feel my cheeks heat up. I could only hope that the layer of foundation that was clinging to my skin was helping to hide it. I laughed nervously.

“You’ll have to get in line for your turn. Apparently, I’m in demand,” I joked, and he giggled slightly. “Anyway, you want some food before I have to go? I’ll even make you tea if you want.”

“You spoil me,” he joked as he finally hauled himself up off of the bed and swung his legs off of the side to plant his feet on the floor. “That sounds pretty perfect to be honest.”

Prompto was feeling a lot more adventurous than I was when it came to food. While my stomach had settled, it seemed that he hadn’t had a problem to begin with after he’d slept for far too long. As he ate his toast that was slathered with honey, and drank his tea, I got the last parts of my outfit ready. 

I pulled on these long black socks that came up over my knees, and shoved my feet into the most appropriate boots I could find for the outfit. I quickly darted to the bathroom mirror to see that I looked okay, and after giving myself a nod of confidence, I turned to Prompto who seemed to have stopped mid-chew. His eyes were fixed on me, a light blush staining his freckled cheeks. 

“What?” I asked, suddenly feeling self conscious.

“Zettai ryouiki…” I heard him mumble, his voice absolutely tiny.

“What?”

“Oh, uh. Nothing,” he said, taking a bite out of his toast, but his eyes didn’t shift from me.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s not important,” he told me with a nervous laugh, leaving me feeling confused. That was something I needed to look up, I thought to myself as I collected my things.

“You look nice,” Gladio greeted me as I entered the lobby of the hotel, Prompto stood alongside me. 

“Thanks,” Prompto joked. 

“You her escort?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, and Prompto shook his head in response.

“I only just woke up, so it made sense to walk here with her,” he explained. “But, and I am being one hundred percent serious. Do anything out of line, and I will kick the shit out of you,” he warned, earning a scoff from Gladio. “I know, I will lose. But I am serious. I’ll hurt you enough to make you regret it.”

I gave him a look, feeling strangely protected by his warning. With a sigh, Gladio gave him a nod.

“I was planning on behaving myself anyway,” he said reassuringly. 

“Good,” Prompto said, nodding in return. It was strange how serious he could be sometimes. I knew that Gladio didn’t feel at all threatened by him, but I knew the last thing that he wanted to do was upset his travelling companion. With that, he gave me a pat on the back, and a small smile before he began to climb the stairs. 

“So,” I finally said, turning to Gladio. “Where are we going?”

“I, uh, actually didn’t have a plan,” he told me, rubbing the back of his head. “You didn’t really give me much of a chance to plan anything.”

I tried to think of things we could do around Lestallum, but not a whole lot came to mind. 

“I think Iris mentioned there was a movie theatre not too far from here,” he muttered as he began to walk towards the door, and I followed behind him. It was the first I’d heard of such a place, but I decided to trust him. 

We ended up walking around the streets for a long while, not really saying much to each other. I didn’t know what to say to him, and he seemed as if he was kind of nervous about the whole ordeal. Sure enough, after a long while of searching, we found the cinema in question. It was old, run down, and was showing films from bygone years that would be considered classics. 

“Is this okay?” he asked me, and I gave him a smile and a nod. “You know, we really don’t have to do this is you don’t want to.”

“You regretting your drunken choice to ask me out already?” I joked.

“Don’t know yet,” he smirked. 

We ended up seeing one of the worst films I’d ever had the displeasure of laying eyes on. Classic movie, my ass. It’s plot was dull, characters completely one dimensional, and all throughout it had this annoying, upbeat soundtrack that was totally unfitting for the tone. Forty five minutes into the ordeal, Gladio let out a sigh next to me. 

I gave him a sideways glance, and his face gave it away; he too, was having an awful time watching this movie we’d picked. He had his head resting in his hand as he tried to pull his eye open, and tried to focus on the movie. He let out an unimpressed click from his mouth as something completely ridiculous happened.

“You wanna bail?” I whispered to him.

“More than I’ve ever wanted to do anything in my life.”

With that, I collected my bag and we quietly left the screening, sighing in relief once we were outside again. With that lot of gil wasted, I turned to Gladio expectantly.

“Sorry about that,” he grumbled. He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he was in thought. “You hungry?”

“I could eat,” I told him.

“Alright. Let’s do that then,” he agreed, and we began walking. 

“Hey, I have a question for you.”

“Alright?”

“What does zettai ryouiki mean?” I questioned.

“I literally have no idea what you just said to me,” he retorted, looking down at me as we walked. “Why the weird question?”

“Prompto said it this afternoon when I was getting ready, and I honestly have no idea what it means.”

I pulled out my phone and typed how I thought the words were spelt into a search engine, suddenly paying attention to my phone and not the date who was walking alongside me. 

“Probably something perverted in that case,” Gladio snorted. “Perverted or nerdy. It’s one of the two.”

I stopped in my tracks as the results popped up, and looked at my legs quizzically. I pointed one out in front of me and frowned.

“Absolute… territory?” I half asked. 

“What are you talking about?” Gladio asked as he stopped a few steps ahead of me.

“You were right, I think,” I mumbled, re-reading the explanation on my phone. “He was talking about the gap in between my socks and my skirt?” 

Gladio let out a loud laugh, but I felt more confused than I did anything else. Was this… absolute territory a weakness of his? 

“Sounds exactly like Prompto,” Gladio chuckled, continuing on his way, leaving me to jog after him to catch up. “Maybe it explains why he’s so infatuated with Cidney,” he thought.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s got that whole look going on, y’know? The long socks, the shorts.”

I almost rolled my eyes as I tucked my phone away. While I had the idea that Prompto was this innocent being, maybe he did have things he was into. Just the thought of it made me blush, and I was thankful that Gladio wasn’t paying all too much attention to me as we headed to our next destination. 

We ended up outside The Surgate’s Beanmine, a place that I had been countless times with Prompto and his friends. I’d had the chance to try everything on the menu, and I’d enjoyed everything. I think Gladio knew as much, because he grabbed us an empty table without questioning if it was somewhere that I wanted to eat. 

“So, did Prompto convince you to come today?” Gladio asked as we started looking over the menus.

“Not really. Though, I should say he tried.”

Gladio gave me a glare.

“What exactly did he say?” he questioned. 

“That you’ve liked me for a while, and you’re not as scary as you seem.”

“I don’t know if I should thank him, or kill him,” Gladio sighed. He folded the menu up and leant over the table towards me, still glaring at me slightly. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

“That sounds ominous,” I said, freezing out of fear.

He leant back in his seat, and chuckled to himself as if he’d thought of a funny joke.

“You know we’ve met before, right? In Insomnia.”

I frowned as I tried to think on where I could have possibly known him from. He never seemed at all familiar, unlike Prompto. He was older than me, so us being in the same class wasn’t right. It seemed like he’d always been in the service of the royal family, so it was very doubtful that we’d ever worked together.

“I don’t remember,” I mumbled, sudden fear creeping into my stomach. 

“You were pretty drunk, so I guess I’m not that surprised.”

Oh god. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. 

“Uhm, could you explain, maybe?” I asked, though not entirely sure I wanted to hear the answer. 

“It was at a bar, probably a couple of years ago by now. You were getting harrassed by these two guys who wouldn’t leave you alone, so I stepped in.”

“And then?”

“You invited me back to your place,” he said simply.

I covered my face with my hands, not wanting to hear anymore, but needing to know. 

“Did we…?” I started asking, but he chuckled.

“Sleep together? No. You passed out pretty quickly once you were in bed,” he told me, and I felt slightly relieved, but not all together good about myself. 

“What  _ did  _ we do?” I asked, knowing that there had to be a catch. 

“You sure you want to know?” he asked, suddenly sounding concerned of how distressed I was acting. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nodded slightly. With a sigh, he continued. “It wasn’t much more that some heavy petting,” he mumbled so that no one else around us would hear him.

“How heavy are we talking?” I could hear the terror in my own voice, and there was nothing I could have done to hide it. 

“Pretty fucking heavy.”

I lay my head down on the table and wanted to cry. I thought about what that implied and my stomach tangled up into uncomfortable knots. Even though I never could have known that Prompto, the man who I would eventually have a crush on, would end up travelling with him, I felt like I’d betrayed him. 

“You seemed pretty into it until you suggested getting into bed. Then you passed out, and I left.”

“I must have been completely wasted if I don’t remember it,” I said, my voice broken and high pitched. “Do the others know?”

“They have no idea, don’t worry,” he tried to reassure me. We fell into an awkward silence as I tried to process the information he’d told me. It didn’t feel real. Just the thought that I’d been at all intimate with Gladio made me feel like I was a terrible person, like I did every morning after. “This has been a pretty terrible date, hasn’t it?” he laughed. 

“It’s not been great,” I sighed, chortling as much as my heart would allow me. 

“I think I’ve got a good idea on how to make it better,” he smiled. “You mind waiting a few minutes?” 

“I guess that’s fine,” I nodded. Yes, a few minutes on my own would give me plenty of time to beat myself up about being such a terrible person.

“Thanks for humouring me. I promise, you’ll enjoy it.”

With that, he stalked off. I didn’t bother to look where he’d gone, because really, it didn’t matter. I really hoped that he was off back to his room, and standing me up because I absolutely deserved it. Not only did I feel like I’d betrayed Prompto in some roundabout way, I hated myself for using Gladio. Both in Insomnia, and on that date. 

He was gone for a very long while, and I checked my phone to see that he hadn’t messaged me to explain the delay. He’d stood me up mid-way through our date. I deserved it. 

I was about ready to collect my bag and leave when the chair across from me scraped back, catching my attention. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, and I was about to shake my head at him, as if to tell him it was fine. That was when I realised it wasn’t Gladio at all. I looked up to see Prompto sat across from me, beaming at me as he always did, completely unaware of what was going on in my mind. 

“W-what are you doing here?” I found myself stuttering.

“Gladio sent me to save the day,” he said with a short laugh. It was then that I felt my phone buzz in my bag, and I quickly took it out to see a message from Gladio. 

‘Sorry, I had to bail. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening with the guy that you actually like.’

Did  _ everyone  _ know?

“Did it go as badly as he seemed to think?”

“Oh yeah, it was a terrible date. But at least it was pretty short,” I said, checking the time. It had taken me less than two hours to chase away the only date I’d had in months. Good going, self. “I just hope I didn’t annoy Gladio too much,” I pondered.

“You didn’t. Believe me, I’d be able to tell. Seems like he feels guilty more than anything,” Prompto said with a snigger, and my the knots in my stomach tightened. 

“Yeah,” I found myself saying, but it wasn’t a word that meant anything in particular. I wasn’t agreeing, I was just filling the air.

“What happened?” 

It was like I could see a path before me, branching off into two different directions.

One looked easier to traverse, but ultimately turned into a tumultuous road that was difficult to navigate, perhaps even dangerous. The other was a path that was laden in thorns, uninviting and terrifying. But beyond the thorns, it was clear, bright and hopeful.

I had to make the choice. I either had to tell him, or I had to lie for the rest of my life, hoping that Gladio didn’t out my deception. 

At least if Prompto turned and walked away from me, I could move on. I could cry all I wanted, experience what real heartbreak felt like, but I could eventually have another fresh start. 

With a large breath, I nodded to myself, trying to find the courage that I didn’t know I had. 

“Me and Gladio…” I started, my voice shaking. Prompto’s happy look had disappeared, instead, he frowned, leaning forward to listen to me. “We, uhm.” 

I couldn’t find the words, and I just hoped that Prompto would fill in the blanks for me. He didn’t. He just looked at me, a very slight look of hurt lingering in his eyes.

“Like, two years ago,” I stuttered. “Apparently we, kinda, almost hooked up at a bar when I was drunk.”

“What do you mean by kinda, almost hooked up?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

“I don’t know exactly. I don’t remember a thing about it,” I admitted. 

“What did he tell you?”

I just shook my head, unable to even attempt to tell him.

“So, you’ve kissed him before?” he asked, his voice small and wavering.

I wanted to know what his face looked like, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I couldn’t tell if he was hurt because he felt betrayed, or if there was another reason. But from his voice, I could tell that he was hurt.

Slowly, and wistfully, I nodded. 

“And some other stuff?”

I nodded again, trying my best to stop myself from crying.

“But you didn’t sleep together?”

I shook my head. I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him as I picked at my nails, wishing that I’d never known of what happened. 

It was then that Prompto let out a breathy laugh, almost like he was irritated.

“Of course,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the entire world. His tone hurt me. “Like I said, Gladio is so good with women that it pisses me off.”

I was trying to will myself to look at him, and apologise. But what was I supposed to be apologising for? Prompto wasn’t my boyfriend. He hadn’t even hinted that he liked me as anything more than a friend. 

Maybe I was more like his project. Maybe he was just trying to fix me, but at that moment, he’d realised that I was irreparable. 

My heart wouldn’t stop pounding from how nervous I felt. 

It was, at that moment, that suddenly the skies opened for the first time since I’d been in Lestallum, and a torrential downpour began. Even as the rain started hitting my skin without apology, I couldn’t move. Even as everyone else who had been outside began to run for cover, I stayed sat still, wondering what it was I was supposed to do. I couldn’t even register if Prompto was still sat opposite me or not. 

It was then that I felt a gentle hand on my sodden shoulder. That was enough to snap my gaze away from my hands, and to the figure beside me.

“C’mon,” Prompto told me. “Let’s get you home.”

He managed to pull me out of my seat, but I wasn’t in a hurry to get myself out of the rain. It felt like everything I deserved. I deserved to parade myself down the street in the rain, showing everyone just how miserable I was. Even as Prompto tried to tug me down the street by the wrist, I couldn’t move any quicker. 

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with you,” he said stopping to look at me, almost shouting to be heard over the sounds of the rain that was still falling on us. The streets had emptied rapidly, and he was the only person I could see.  

“I don’t understand how you don’t understand,” I managed to reply loud enough so that he could hear me. 

“It’s in the past,” he tried to reassure me, gripping onto both of my shoulders as if he was trying to shake some sense to me. “It doesn’t matter.”

“But it does,” I said, finally bringing myself to look at him. 

His face was damp from the rain, his hair dripping. I’d never seen him look so serious, and I’d never seen him look so… hurt. Was it me that did that? Just looking at him was enough to make my lip wobble as I choked back a sob. I forced myself into his arms and burrowed my face into his shoulder, not trying to hold anything back.

“I hate myself,” I told him, almost screaming. He was frozen as I admitted it, and it felt like the most truthful I’d ever been with myself. “I really, really hate myself.”

It was then that he wrapped his arms around me as tightly as he could, lowering his head to lean it on my shoulder. 

“Stop it,” he said, whispering into my ear, but I could only shake my head.

“I don’t understand why you’re still here, Prompto,” I cried. “I’m awful. I’m horrible. The sooner you realise that, the better off you’ll be.”

“That’s not true,” he told me sternly. “It’s alright.”

“How is any of this alright?”

“Because it just is. If you want to get rid of me, you’ll have to try harder.”

“I don’t want to get rid of you,” I spluttered.

“Then you need to understand something,” he said, easing me away from his his shoulder, and holding me at arm’s length for a moment. He looked into my eyes, a gentleness in his own. He smiled slightly, letting his thumbs try and wipe away the smudges of makeup under my eyes before his hands came to settle at the sides of my head, almost as if he was keeping me from looking away. “I don’t care about who you were. But I do care about who you are now.”

It was as if his words were these healing waves that were washing over me.

That was it.

That was the moment I knew that my feelings for him were real. 

I thought for a few moments on just how much I loved being around Prompto. I loved it when he gave me a glimpse of that huge, goofy, sunshine grin. I loved it when he made his terrible jokes, or when he’d talk endlessly about how much he loved chocobos. I loved it when he’d go out of his way to cheer me up, or make me smile. I just loved him. 

There wasn’t a single thing about him that I didn’t completely adore. 

The thought wasn’t as scary as I thought it would have been. It felt like it was this thing that had always been there, somewhere within me. It wasn’t like before, when I felt conflicted. It almost felt like a relief. 

I loved him.  
  
That was all there was to it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head-canon alert. I totally have the feeling Prompto would be totally into absolute territory. 
> 
> I promise you guys are going to like the next chapter! Thank you for reading, and thank you for all your comments on the last chapter. I was blown away with how many of them their were when I woke up this morning <3


	16. Chapter 16

Eventually, Prompto had convinced me to go home and get out of the rain, telling me to take a warm shower and drink a cup of warm tea. But as I entered my apartment on my own, it was all I could do to shirk myself of my damp clothes and roll into bed, not even attempting to find a pair of pyjamas to help keep me warm. 

The day had been far too overwhelming, and I just wanted to sleep, hoping that the morning would bring me clarity. I was easily lulled into sleep by the rain pattering against my windows.

The next morning did not bring me any kind of clarity.

I woke up in the early hours of the morning, before the sun had even risen, my nose blocked, my head hurting and my throat dry. I could hardly even breath from the weight that was on my lungs. I could say with the utmost certainty, that I was sick. I’d gotten a cold, probably brought on by my multiple excursions in the rain and the fact that I’d overworked myself beforehand. It had all caught up with me, and I felt like complete and utter shit. 

I immediately worried that Prompto had gotten himself sick too, as he’d been in the rain for even longer than I had, since he had to walk all the way back to the hotel by himself. I rolled over and groped for my phone, blearily looking at the time. It was just before 6am. It somehow felt like the nights had been getting longer. 

I sent Prompto a quick message, telling him that I hoped he wasn’t feeling as sick as I was. 

With that, I burrowed myself back into the warm confines of my bed and tried my best to sleep off the sickness that I’d acquired, making a mental note to call into work later and use some of my sick days.

It was the next day when I was woken from my deep slumber by a loud knock at my front door. At first I ignored it as I rolled over in bed, uncomfortable from how sick I still felt. How was my nose so stuffy, yet still managing to run like a tap? On top of that, my headache still had yet to subside and my sinuses felt like they were on fire.

The knocking continued, getting a little louder with every attempt to rouse me from my slumber. I inched an eye open and looked out of the window. The sky was turning a magnificent hue of orange as the sun began to set. I must have been trying to sleep off whatever sickness I had for a long while.

Again, the knocking came, and with a defeated exhale, I hauled myself out of bed with a great amount of effort. I felt dizzy as soon as I stood up straight. I managed to stumble to the front door and open it slightly to see a familiar blond man smiling on the other side.

“Prompto? What are you doing here?” I asked through my hoarse voice that cracked in the most unattractive manner possible. 

He cheerfully held up a container, his smile never faltering.

“You said you were sick, so I’m here to make you some food.”

I opened the door wider so that he could come inside. I was almost ashamed of how messy my apartment had gotten over the space of a day. There were tissues strewn across the floor as well as a handful of dirty clothes that I hadn’t quite found the energy to put in the wash. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Terrible,” I said as I suppressed a cough. “I don’t want you to catch anything, so you don’t have to hang around.”

“It’s fine. I’m pretty resilient.” He paused as he saw the opening to the kitchen, and without asking, he began to almost skip happily towards it. “Besides, I don’t have anything else to do right now.”

“Where are the others?”

“Noct is sleeping, as usual. I’m not sure where Gladio got to, to be honest. Ignis is just staying in the hotel. He made you food and gave me strict instructions on how to heat it up.”

He set his container down and I followed him cautiously into the kitchen. As he caught sight of me, he shook his head adamantly.

“Go and rest, I’m here to look after you for a little bit.”

“You’re sure?”

“Sure I’m sure,” he grinned at me happily as he placed his hands on my shoulders and guided me back towards the bed. Once he was satisfied with where I was, he nodded and wordlessly turned to the kitchen.

It almost made me feel uneasy at how upbeat he seemed. When we’d last seen each other, we’d parted on good terms, but it seemed as if nothing had changed before the revelation that Gladio had shared with me, that Prompto had then learnt about. 

It really was as if he didn’t care about my past.

I played on my phone for a while, searching for videos to take my mind off of how awful I felt. None of them were all that interesting, but I appreciated what little distraction they gave me as Prompto happily worked away in the kitchen. 

I was thankful when he finally came out with a bowl of soup in his hands, and he carefully tread through the one large room in my apartment towards my bed, being extra careful not to spill anything. He placed it in front of me and I looked at it quizzically. 

“What is it?”

“Devilfin soup. Ignis was the one who did all the work really, but he says it should help you feel better.”

I cradled it in my lap, appreciating the warmth that radiated from the bowl. I couldn’t help but wish that I had a sense of smell, because it looked rather pleasing. I began to eat it, thankful that Ignis had taken time to make it for me, and even more thankful that Prompto had come to give it to me.

“How is it?” he asked as he carefully perched himself on the edge of the bed.

“I have no idea. I can’t taste anything,” I admitted with a weak giggle. He smiled at me before pressing his hand to my forehead and letting it linger there for a few seconds.

“You feel really warm. Sorry that I can’t really do a whole lot to make you feel better,” he said sadly before retracting his hand. “Do you have medicine anywhere?”

“Bathroom cabinet,” I said after I swallowed my mouthful of soup. Again, he began to poke around my apartment, finding his way to the bathroom. By the time he came back with both of his hands full of different medicines that I’d stocked up on, I’d finished half of the soup.

He took his place at the edge of the bed again and began to quietly read at the many, many labels. He looked as if he wanted to be careful with what he gave me, but eventually decided that cough syrup, and a couple of ibuprofen would suffice. He waited patiently until I’d finished my food, and without hesitation he took away my empty bowl. When he returned, he came with a glass of water, and he presented it to me silently before handing me everything he wanted me to take.

After I’d finished the dose of cough syrup, with a taste so disgustingly strong that it somehow managed to bring my tastebuds to life once more, he began to clear away the medicines. I caught his forearm in my hand and tugged on it weakly.

“You don’t have to clean up, I’ll do it later. It’s fine.”

“I really don’t mind. It won’t take long.”

He gave me a reassuring smile before he began to clean up the bottles of medicines. I could only watch as he gave my apartment a quick clean, putting the tissues into the small bin beside the door and throwing the dirty clothes into the wash basket.

“There. Now you have one less thing to worry about and you can focus on getting better!” he grinned at me.

“You’re a bit like Ignis today,” I half joked. It was a true sentiment, but I tried to play it off as a joke. He chuckled slightly before shoving his hands into his pockets and standing there awkwardly.

“So, do you need anything else? If you do, just tell me and I’ll get it for you,” he offered, and I felt strangely sad at the idea of him leaving. I think he could tell from the way my shoulders deflated and I looked down at my phone. “We could hang out if you want the company. I’m not trying to get out of here or anything,” he added quickly. 

“That sounds like it could be fun,” I said, trying to hide the excitement in my voice, but it completely failed. 

“How bored have you been while you’ve been sick?” he asked with a laugh.

“Pretty bored, to be honest. That being said, I don’t really have anything for us to do.” 

He looked around the room and his eyes landed on the TV for a few moments before he shook his head. Considering his options for a few moments, he hummed. 

“Do you mind if I go out for a little bit?” he questioned. 

“That’s fine, can I sleep while you do?” I chuckled.

“Sleep away. Can I take your keys? I don’t want to wake you up if I can avoid it.”

I nodded, pointing to my bag that was hung up beside the door. He quickly retrieved my set of keys and held them up triumphantly. 

“Okay, I won’t be too long,” he said as he waved to me and exited the apartment. 

I settled back into my mattress, and began to look at videos on my phone hoping that I’d fall back to sleep, but it never seemed to happen. I didn’t need to sleep anymore, I could say that much, but I just wanted to experience anything other than this pounding headache. 

Prompto was hardly gone for twenty minutes before he came bursting through the door, weighed down by far too many bags. It was a good job I hadn’t gotten to sleep, because the sound of him bursting through the door would have terrified me more than it already had.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” he mumbled as I looked at him with wide eyes. 

He quickly took the keys out of the lock and closed the door with his foot as he stumbled inside.

“What did you buy?” I asked, sounding completely confused as to why he had so many bags in his possession.

He held up one bag. “Prompto safe ingredients for cooking,” he said before placing it back down and hauling up another bag. “Back up food for when I mess up.” Then he picked up the last two bags and brought them towards me. “And these are for you.”

I sat up and peeked inside the bag, curious as to what he’d brought.

One bag was full of movies, and snacks, the other, bigger bag had this old games console inside of it, along with an array of old cartridges, some of which I recognised from my childhood. One in particular caught my eye. 

“Woah! This is the original King’s Knight!” I exclaimed through my raspy voice, but the excitement in my tone still lingered.

“Wait, you play King’s Knight?” he yelped, equally excited as I was. “We could totally play that together too then!” 

“Seriously, though. This is way too much,” I told him. “I’m just sick. It’s not my birthday.”

“It’s fine. I actually saw it on the market a couple of days ago and I was looking for an excuse to buy it, but I don’t have anywhere for it to go,” he explained, as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world. “You just have to let me come over to play it whenever I want.”

He looked at me, and back towards the TV.

“Do you mind if I move the TV over here?” he asked. “I’ll move it back before I leave. I just think you should stay in bed if possible.”

“Sure. I mean, don’t push yourself on my behalf. We can always play King’s Knight on our phones if you don’t feel like it.”

“I’d love to say that I’m pushing myself so that  _ you  _ can have fun, but I’m just too curious about the original King’s Knight,” he laughed. With that, he began to rearrange my furniture, somehow managing to haul my TV cabinet across the room so that it could sit at the bottom of my bed, and setting up both the TV and the new console. All the while, I just stayed in bed, watching him and trying my best to fight off the headache that was slowly subsiding. 

“Done!” he finally said twenty minutes later. He handed me the TV remote and a controller, before turning to the bags that he’d left beside the kitchen door. He waved them off rather quickly, and turned to me, looking eager to give the game a go.

“Why don’t you play? I don’t mind just watching you,” I said with a smile as I scooted over on the bed and patted the empty space next to me. He didn’t need to be told twice. With a smile, he unlaced his boots and ungracefully clambered onto the bed next to me and flopped back. 

“Let me know if you want to play, alright?” he grinned at me. After inserting the cartridge and turning the console on, he was greeted to the menu. He looked so excited to give it a go, but as he started the game properly, he was greeted to one of the most annoying pieces of 8-bit music either of us had ever heard. Regardless, he squinted at the screen, and concentrated on controlling the knight. I recognised the sprite from the loading screens of the game I played on my phone, earning a small smile from me.

It was a short lived moment of happiness, as the game immediately seemed to fall apart. Monsters would come out of the terrain that Prompto was destroying, the floor was littered with what we could only assume were nonsensical power ups.

“What do the boot mean?” Prompto mumbled as he tried his best to avoid the onslaught of mountain monsters. 

“Maybe it’s a speed power up?” I wondered, but even as he picked it up, it didn’t seem to improve his movement. 

It happened all too suddenly as he fell in a pit that only appeared as he stepped on it, leaving him open for everything on the screen to attack him. The screen informed us that Ray Jack the Knight was dead. 

It wasn’t game over, however. Instead, he was thrust into a new stage, the sheer brightness of it causing me to cover my eyes. Even after I’d closed my eyes, I could still see the imprints of the stage that had burned itself into my retinas. 

Eventually I opened my eyes slightly to glare at the screen, and he seemed to be having a better time of this stage over the first now that he’d gotten his bearings. I gave him a sidewards glance as he played, and the way that his face concentrated on the game was completely adorable. His tongue was poking out of the corner of his mouth ever so slightly, his brow furrowed as he avoided the enemies. 

“Stop it,” he finally mumbled.

“Stop what?”

“Looking at me. I can’t concentrate.”

“Sorry, it’s just the screen is so hideous.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “This is not as good as I was hoping.”

After another ten minutes of playing, he’d managed to kill off Kaliva the Wizard, and Toby the Thief, but he had one character remaining, after he’d managed to complete his stage.

“C’mon, Barusa, don’t let me down,” he said, silently wishing for the little green monster on the screen to carry him through the final level of the game. All seemed to be going quite well. That was short lived, however, as he found himself in an area he couldn’t get past, no matter how he tried. As the pillars surrounded him, trapping him and preventing him from going any further, all he could do was watch as the bottom of the screen ate his remaining character, ending the life of Barusa the monster, and earning him a game over. 

He let out a long groan before he turned to me, visibly frustrated. 

“Well, that sucked.”

“I think I’ll pass on playing for today. I don’t think my headache could stand a round of Kaliva’s stage,” I giggled. 

“So the painkillers haven’t done anything yet?” he asked, pressing the back of his hand to my forehead again to check my fever.

“Not a thing,” I told him. 

“Wanna play something else? There were a bunch of games that came with it, I’m sure there are some two player games.”

“I mean, if you’re telling me to stay in bed and play video games all day, I’m not going to argue,” I laughed, earning a smile from Prompto. 

So we played as many games as we could over the span of a few hours, and Prompto managed to absolutely destroy me in everything we played, be it platformers, racing games, or fighting games. After he’d knocked me out for what felt like the hundredth time, I put my controller down and gave him a pout. 

“It’s not fair. I’m sick so I can concentrate properly,” I whined.

“Well we’ll have to have a rematch when you’re better then, right?” He grinned at me, and just the idea of him wanting to spend more time with me made me feel a little better. “I’ll still beat you though.” I punched his shoulder lightly, and in return, he nudged my shoulder with his own. 

“You want to watch a movie, or something?” I asked. I really wasn’t ready to be on my own, and something about spending time with Prompto was at least cheering me up slightly. He looked at the clock on the windowsill next to my bed and considered it for a minute.

“You sure you just don’t want to go to sleep?” It was getting late, but I shook my head adamantly. 

“I’m kind of enjoying your company. Kind of.”

“Did I beat you too much for a definitive answer?” he joked. I nodded with a grin, and he smiled right back at me before hauling himself up out of his reclined position. “You have to eat first, and then we can watch something,” he insisted, making his way over to the bags by the kitchen, finally deciding to deal with them.

As he made his way into the kitchen, I decided to follow him, crawling out of bed with little to no dignity, and as soon as I was stood upright, I could only wobble over to the kitchen door in my dizzy state, hoping that I’d find the door frame to lean on before I fell over. 

As soon as I was in his in his view, he turned to me and shook his head.

“What are you doing?” he sighed, approaching me again.

“I wanted to stretch my legs,” I told him, resting my head on the door frame. “I regret my choice. What are you cooking?” I asked.

“Look, I’m not as good as you or Ignis, so don’t expect much. But I can make noodles at least,” he mumbled, almost as if he was embarrassed. 

It was then that I realised that he’d been mumbling all day, something that he only usually did when he was sulking, or at least pretending to sulk. I wondered if his bright grins had been part of an act to try and fool me into thinking that he was as happy as he ever was.

“Are you okay?” I asked him, and he gave me a light, noncommittal shrug.  

“I suppose so.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

He gave me a wry smile before shaking his head.

“Not until you’re in bed, and resting properly.”

With a sigh, I pushed myself off of the door frame a little too vigorously, causing my body to give a last wobble before I finally found myself falling towards the floor. Prompto practically leapt across the kitchen, catching me in his arms and trying to steady me. It was like all of the strength had been completely sapped from my body, and all I could really do was lean against him as I gasped for air. 

“Were you this bad yesterday?” he asked, checking my temperature one more time with the palm of his hand. 

“I’m better today,” I told him, trying to steady myself, but my legs just seemed as if they weren’t going to play nice. 

“You should have told me how bad you were,” he sighed, leaning down slightly to scoop me up from my almost standing position, so that he could carry me over to the bed. I tried to make it easier for him by clinging to his shoulders, but it felt like the hardest thing in the world to accomplish. 

He quickly set me down and pulled his phone out, quickly tapping away on the screen.

“I’m gonna call Ignis really quickly,” he told me as he excused himself and went to stand in the kitchen. I found myself still unable to breath properly, and I tried to cough a few times to clear my chest, but all it seemed to do was hurt my ribs and exhaust me further. “Hey, it’s only me,” I heard him mumble. “Yeah, she’s not good. I don’t know if I should get a doctor or something.” A few moments of silence. “Yeah. It is.” After a few more moments of silence, Prompto let out a sigh. “Alright, keep me updated.”

With that he exited the kitchen, and I gave him a quizzical glance. 

“What’s going on?” I asked in a weak and small voice.

“Ignis is going to try and find a doctor,” he said, coming to perch on the bed next to me. 

“I can’t afford a doctor,” I whined at him.

“I’ll take care of it, alright? Don’t worry about it.”

I rolled my head to look at him properly. He seemed really worried about me, and I couldn’t imagine that he’d take no for an answer when it came to making sure I was okay. He gave me a small smile before leaning over to brush the hair out of my face. 

“So what’s up?” I asked, and he let out a small laugh.

“I guess I’m just a little jealous,” he admitted, trying to laugh it off, but even in my sickness induced stupor, I could tell it was half hearted.

“Of Gladio?”

“Something like that.”

“Why are you jealous?” I asked, prompting a blush to appear on his cheeks.

“I guess it’s because I feel like he’s got something over me. Like, you and him have this special connection that I can’t compete with,” he told me with a sad sigh.

“Hey,” I said, trying to reach for one of his hands that were folded on his lap. It was too far away for me to grasp properly, so instead my hand just came to rest on his thigh. He looked at me in surprise for a moment before he understood what I was trying to do, and quickly tucked his hand into my own. “You shouldn’t feel jealous because of that,” I tried to reassure him.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t remember a damn thing about it. So it can’t be that special, can it?”

That managed to pull a smile from him, along with a small giggle. 

“Besides,” I continued, taking in the biggest breath I could. “There’s like, no one else who’s as special as you are to me.”

“No one?” he asked as if he was confused.

“Nope. Not a single person.”

His hand gave mine a tight squeeze, and for a few moments he looked conflicted before he shook it off.

“Alright. I’ll work on trying to not feel so jealous,” he said, smiling at me. 

“I’ll work on not being reminded of how shitty I am,” I giggled. 

“Okay, you need to stop thinking bad things about yourself. Work on that first.”

“Might take a while,” I said as my eyes started to feel heavy once more. He could tell that I was starting to feel tired, as he reached over to start stroking my hair in the most soothing motions he could muster. It was enough to lull me into a light sleep, where I still felt as if I was aware of everything that was happening around me.

I could hear Prompto’s footsteps around the apartment as he made his way to the kitchen to try and prepare whatever meal he could. I’d hear him sigh as his phone rang, and I could hear him talking to someone, but none of it made any sense.

What eventually disturbed me, and dragged me from the sleep that didn’t seem to help me all too much was the knock at the door, and Prompto’s hurried footsteps as he made his way towards it.

“Hey Ignis,” I heard him say as my eyes adjusted to the room around me. 

“Evening, Prompto,” he said in his usual refined accent as he stepped past the threshold of the apartment, followed by a figure I absolutely didn’t recognise. “It looks like you’ve done a good job of making sure she’s been resting.”

“Ah, so this is the patient?” the other figure said as he came into focus. I could see Prompto behind him as he folded his arms across his chest and looked at the man eagerly, yet with some kind of worry in his eyes. 

“I think I have a cold,” I managed to tell him.

“Mm, I’ll be the judge of that, I think,” he chortled.

He gave me a quick examination, taking my temperature, and asking me questions about how I felt, when I started to feel sick, and if I’d experienced any specific symptoms. He nodded in response to all of my answers.

“The flu, I’d say,” he said, turning to Prompto and Ignis who were both observing quietly. “I can give her a shot. It won’t get rid of it, but it should help to alleviate the symptoms in the next 18 hours or so.”

“Are you okay with that?” Prompto asked me.

“How much does it cost?” I asked in a tiny voice, wondering if I could even afford such a thing.

“Don’t concern yourself with that. We’ll see to it that you’re taken care of it,” Ignis chimed in.

With that, the doctor rose from the seat, approaching Ignis to whisper something to him. Probably how much it was going to cost to help me, I thought. Ignis sighed, and nodded before the doctor collected his bag and quickly left.

“Wait, where’s he going?” Prompto asked.

“Well, he doesn’t carry around every possible medicine, Prompto. He’s just going to collect it. He’ll be back. In the meantime, what is it that you’re cooking in there?”

“I was trying to make something for her to eat,” Prompto mumbled, blushing slightly. 

“Would you like my assistance while we wait?”

Prompto pulled a face, as if he wanted to do it by himself, but he wasn’t sure if he could manage it. 

“Yes please,” he said, smiling at his friend. 

With that, they turned to the kitchen and began to cook quietly as I just lay in bed, wishing that I could join the two of them. 

It didn’t feel like it was too long before the doctor returned, and he sat himself next to me. It wasn’t long before he was brandishing a large syringe in my direction, and I couldn’t help but gulp at the sight.

“This is going to suck, isn’t it?” I asked, trying to laugh. 

“You need your boyfriend for moral support?” the doctor chuckled.

“Oh, I’m not her boyfriend,” Prompto said, laughing nervously. He’d obviously left Ignis to take care of the rest of the cooking as he came to watch the doctor carefully. 

“Brother?” 

“Nope, just friend,” Prompto answered awkwardly.

“Well, do you need him for moral support?” 

I looked at the syringe again before glancing over to Prompto and nodding. I wasn’t usually scared of needles, but I’d rarely had the need for them to be inside of me. Prompto nodded at me, and clambered over to the empty side of the bed, quickly slipping his hand into mine and giving it a reassuring squeeze as he sat cross legged next to me. 

“Just keep looking at him, and you’ll be fine,” the doctor told me as he began to work his way towards finding a vein. The tourniquet he tied around my arm was uncomfortable enough to make me pull a face, and almost as if it was nothing, Prompto laced his fingers with mine, and brought my hand up to his mouth to place a small kiss on the back of it, which the doctor didn’t seem to notice. 

I smiled at him, thankful for the distraction as the doctor wiped at my arm, looking for the vein.

“Alright,” he said in a warning tone. “Sharp scratch.”

That’s all it was. A brief pain as he injected the medicine into me, and unpleasant feeling of it being added to my bloodstream, but it was over quickly. 

“That should do the trick,” the doctor said, catching my attention again. “If you aren’t feeling any better by this time tomorrow, give me a call,” he said, quickly scribbling down a phone number on a piece of paper. “Now, for the matter of payment…”

Ignis was quick to emerge from the kitchen, his jacket discarded and his sleeves rolled up.

“I’ll see to that.”

He quickly dipped his hand into his pocket to fetch his wallet, and he handed over an absurd amount of gil. There was no way I’d have that much disposable income with the job I had, and I supposed that this was one of the benefits to being friends with the prince.

With a quick nod, the doctor collected his things once more and after tucking away the large amount of money, exited my apartment. 

After he was gone, and Prompto had released my hand, I looked to Ignis.

“It might be a while, but I’ll pay you back,” I informed him in my raspy voice.

“You needn’t worry about it. We can easily make up the lost gil by taking on a few hunts, I should imagine.”

Prompto let out a groan as he clambered over my legs and off of the bed.

“Let’s just focus on making the food for now,” Prompto whined as he started towards the kitchen. 

“I should imagine you’ll want to stay here tonight, Prompto,” Ignis said, following behind him. “It’s probably for the best if there’s someone here to look after her.”

“I mean, if that’s okay with her?” he half questioned, looking back over his shoulder towards me.

“We could play more King’s Knight,” I joked, and he rolled his eyes.

“I’ll text Noct and tell him to bring you your things, in that case.”

It was twenty minutes before there was yet another knock at the door, and Prompto was quick to answer it, allowing Noctis to enter. He held out a bag towards his friend and Prompto nodded to him in thanks.

“So, how are you feeling?” Noctis asked me, giving me a small smile.

“Like dirt,” I answered. “But it’s just the flu, so I should be okay soon.”

His expression brightened significantly as he caught sight of the cartridge that was sat on top of the games console I now had in my possession. He was looking at King’s Knight with this almost needy stare.

“You wanna try it?” I asked, and he nodded. It was the most excited I’d ever seen him.

“Don’t do it,” Prompto warned with a shout from the kitchen that he’d returned to. 

“Why not?” Noctis asked as he perched himself on the edge of the mattress to face the TV, plucking the cartridge up to give it a proper look over. 

“It’s terrible. Really, really bad.”

Noctis seemed to ignore him as he went about fiddling with the console, changing the games out and picking up the controller before turning it on.

One thing I surely didn’t miss in our brief stint of playing other games was the horrifically annoying music of the first level. I watched carefully as Noctis controlled the knight on the screen, seeming to have a complete understanding of what he was doing. I watched, almost in awe, as he navigated the map, narrowly missing the pitfalls and other traps that the game had to offer. It seemed rather quick, but he’d finished the first level, the screen illuminating the words ‘Knight ‘Ray Jack’ Level 17.’

“Prompto!” I yelled. “You’re gonna want to see this!”

Somehow, over the course of the next twenty minutes, the atmosphere had changed. Ignis, Prompto and I were all eating the noodles and vegetables that they’d so carefully prepared for me, and Noctis was just about to enter the final level of the game with all four characters intact.

That was when the game became a garbled and confusing mess, with his four characters journeying through the screen, their hitbox much bigger than should have been fair, with what felt like hundreds of tiles littering the floor that seemed to switch the position of the characters.

We were all watching him in anticipation, Ignis less so, as he approached the area where Prompto had been trapped. I thought that perhaps he’d gotten trapped because he needed all four characters to proceed, but as Noctis was surrounded by the pillars, he was powerless to do anything but wait for his inevitable demise. 

“This game is so unfair,” Noctis sighed as the game over screen came up, and Prompto let out an exasperated groan. 

“I thought you had it,” Prompto agreed, pulling out his phone and tapping away on the screen. After a few silent moments, he rolled his eyes before looking at Noctis. “There are secret spells on every level that you have to have to complete the game.”

“What? That’s so stupid,” Noctis growled, giving a glare to the menu of the game. “I’ll just stick to the phone version, I think,” he added, hauling himself up off of the mattress and giving his limbs a quick stretch. 

“I suppose we’d best be off and leave the patient to get some rest,” Ignis said as he finished the last of his food and handed his bowl to Prompto. “Make sure to clean up, Prompto.”

“Will do,” Prompto nodded. 

“Let us know if there’s anything you need, alright?” Noctis asked me, and I smiled.

“I really couldn’t ask for anything else today,” I giggled, feeling relieved that I could somewhat taste the food that Prompto and Ignis had made for me. 

“Well, if Prompto starts getting on your nerves, let us know. We’ll come and pick him up,” Noctis joked, giving us a wave as he and Ignis left, leaving me and Prompto alone with the menu of the terribly unfair game. 

“So, how about we watch one of those movies that I brought for you?” he grinned at me, and I nodded happily. 

I wasn’t sure who was the first to fall asleep, but I was the first to wake up in the early hours of the morning, glaring at the screen of the TV which was the only thing keeping the room illuminated. As I moved my head to look at the screen, I felt something strange. It was like a weight that was pulling me in closer. I shifted a little bit again, and I felt something nuzzle into the back of my neck as if it was trying to keep a certain kind of closeness with me.

I looked down to my stomach, and I could see a familiar arm wrapped around me, gripping me tightly. There was only one person I knew who wore so many wristbands so insistently. 

I could feel his steady breath on the back of my neck as he slept, and it sent my heart absolutely wild. I wanted to turn to look at him, to see his sleeping and vulnerable face. Yet at the same time, I wasn’t sure that I could move without waking him up. Regardless, I began to move ever so slightly, until I was facing him. He looked absolutely perfect as he dreamt, and I felt this uncontrollable happiness well up from within me. I only got the chance to look at him for a few, short, sweet seconds before his eyelids fluttered open and he was staring right back at me. 

“What time is it?” he asked in a broken voice, not moving his arm from around me.

“Not quite 3am,” I replied, my voice sounding rough and coarse. He nodded, and yawned before he finally rolled off of the bed and stumbled around to find the bag Noctis had brought him earlier. “I need to take my contacts out,” he mumbled to himself. I’d always wondered if he’d had to wear contacts, because I’d never seen him without glasses in school. It seems that my question was answered. 

He staggered into the bathroom, only to emerge a few minutes later with his arms in front of him as he tried to make his way back to me. He was in his pyjamas, his arms covered by these long sleeves, but I could see that he was still wearing a wristband. I wondered if I’d ever seen him without it, because he always wore one in school too. 

“I can’t see,” he whimpered as he almost tripped back onto the bed. “This totally isn’t the couch, is it?”

“How blind are you?” I asked, and he giggled in response. “You don’t have to sleep on the sofa,” I told him. 

“Why not?”

“I mean, it’s not exactly comfortable and it’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before,” I murmured. Truthfully, I just wanted him to stay with me. I wanted him to wrap his arm around me and nuzzle into the back of my neck again.

“I suppose that’s true.” He didn’t argue the point, he just slipped himself underneath the covers, and tried to adjust his eyes so that he could see me. “Hey,” he finally said, smiling as if he’d achieved his goal.

“Hi.”

“Can I ask you something?” he said, nervously letting his hand come to a rest on my hip. It almost seemed like he didn’t want me to move away from him, lest his focus on me faltered. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat.

“Sure.”

“You know the guy you like? What’s he like?”

“Why does it matter?” I chuckled sadly. “Like I said, he already has someone he likes.” Though, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered about if that was true or not.

“Yeah. But he’s an idiot if he can’t see how awesome you are though,” he said in the hopes of cheering me up and I couldn’t help but snort. If only he knew.

“Yeah, the guy’s a real idiot.”

“Then why do you like him so much?”

“He’s an idiot, but he’s cute, and he’s got a good heart. It’s not very often that I meet people like him. He’s a dork, he’s way too into King’s Knight for his own good, and I think he’d choose going to see chocobos over seeing a girl any day of the week.”

I couldn’t believe how honest I was being. Maybe I could blame it on the sickness. Maybe I was hoping that he’d figure it out, I couldn’t tell. He froze for a few seconds before laughing slightly. 

“He sounds awesome, in my opinion,” he chuckled. “I can tell that you really like him. You’ve gone all pink in the face just from talking about him.”

“Shut up, I still have a fever, you know? And I thought you said you couldn’t see,” I said, shoving his shoulder slightly.

“If only there was a girl out there who could think that way about me,” he laughed again, but this time he sounded a little bit sad. Internally I was screaming, hoping that he’d somehow hear my inner thoughts and catch on.

I took in a deep breath and smiled slightly.

“I said he was cute.”

“Hey!” He looked wounded by my joke. “You don’t think I’m cute?” he asked with a pout, making sure his eyes looked as sad possible.

“Hmm.”

I leant in slightly, enjoying the view I had of his adorable face. He looked uncomfortable as I edged closer to him, making sure that he knew I was studying all of his features. 

“Yup.” I finally said. “You’re cute.”

He blushed uncontrollably and covered his face up with his free hand. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

In a moment of courage, I tugged on his arm to pull his hand away from his reddened face.

“No I’m not,” I said seriously.

He didn’t move for a moment as he processed what I was saying.

“You must be really sick, then.”

“I’m not delirious. I know what I’m saying, Prompto.”

He bit his lip, and looked flustered as to what to do. Adorable.

“What about me?” I asked, trying to take some of the heat off of his appearance. “Do you think I’m cute?”

He began to study my face, squinting as he tried to focus on my features, and I realised just how uncomfortable it really was. I could feel my cheeks heat up and it took everything within me to maintain eye contact with him. He took a lot longer than I did. Eventually he smiled.

“You are, but I don’t know if that’s how I’d describe you,” he said, his voice wobbling slightly. 

“Rude.”

“No, no. I’m not trying to insult you. I just think you’re, uh, more beautiful than you are cute, I guess,” he stuttered out, and my heart began to beat wildly. Both of our faces were red, neither of us knew what to say. 

“Oh. Uh, thanks, I think.”

“That’s okay.”

Awkwardly, we looked at each other for a while longer, and I felt his grip tighten on my hip.

“I have another question,” he stated.

“What’s that?”

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me?”

“The guy you like. It’s me, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 100 kudos! Oh my life, thank you so much :D
> 
> I hope this chapter helps to relieve some of the frustration that some of you have been feeling lately, haha. I hope you enjoyed, and as always, thank you for reading!


	17. Chapter 17

“It’s me, isn’t it?” 

“Excuse me?”

“The guy you like. It’s me, right?”

He asked the question so casually, and suddenly, I was the most awake I’d ever been.

“Why do you think it’s you?”

“It’s just a feeling.”

He was somewhat confident in his words, and I felt like I wanted to cry. Maybe I didn’t want him to figure it out after all, because I felt sick, and nervous.

“So what if it is?” I asked through a nervous and shaky voice. I sounded like I was on the verge of tears. 

His hand shifted from my hip to my face as he began to stroke my cheek with his thumb ever so lightly. He closed his eyes as if he were taking in the moment, and I had no idea what to do or say. I lay there, completely frozen, wordless and terrified. 

“Can you give me a couple of days?” he suddenly asked, his eyes fluttering open once more.

“What for?”

“There’s something I need to do. But I’m not rejecting you.”

With that weight off of my shoulders, I suddenly felt as if I could be much more open and honest with him.

“You can, you know? I’d be sad, but I might be able to move on.”

“I’m not rejecting you,” he repeated. “I’m sorry if I’m the reason that you’ve been sad.”

“It’s okay,” I mumbled.

His hand moved around to the back of my head and he pulled me back in towards his chest. He simply held he as close to his heart as he could, allowing his fingers to trace small patterns into my scalp.

“I’m sorry. I’m so tired,” he murmured to me, and I shook my head as if I was saying it was okay. 

He fell asleep quickly, but it left me to have a few moments of taking in the slightly sweet smell of his shirt, and the way that being so close to him felt. 

The next morning, I woke up to Prompto quickly shoving his feet into his boots and patting his pockets to check that he had everything. I squinted at him through the bright light that was streaming in through the blinds.

Before he went any further, he turned around to look at me, and smiled when he saw that I was awake.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, perching himself on the edge of the bed again, and putting his hand on my forehead to check my temperature. 

“Better, I think. I think I should be able to go to work tonight.”

“You sure you’re up for that already?”

“I have to be. Gotta pay my rent somehow,” I chuckled. “You’re leaving already?”

“Yeah. The guys want to go on one last hunt before we leave. We should be back in Lestallum tonight,” he said, letting his hand move from my forehead to stroke my hair gently.

“Why don’t you all come to the place that I work at tonight, then? If you’re saying that it’s your last hunt before you leave, you must be going pretty soon, right?”

“Yeah, we’re leaving tomorrow morning,” he sighed, and I bit my lip. Thinking about them leaving wasn’t something that I liked to linger on for too long. It hardly felt like they’d been back for a day, but the last week had been too eventful for me to complain about. 

“Then you’re off to Altissia?”

“Hopefully for a celebration, but at this point, I’m not sure,” he mumbled as if he was thinking to himself. “Yeah, it’ll be good to see you tonight. Where is it that you work?”

Wearily, I rose from my bed and stretched out my sore muscles. That medicine had been a godsend because it had managed to shift the headache with ease, and all things considered, I didn’t feel too bad. I climbed out of bed to get a pen and paper, scrawling down the address of the bar.

“Don’t lose it, alright?” I said, handing it to him, and he smiled at me before tucking it away in his pocket. 

“Got it. So, we’ll see you tonight then, I suppose,” he said, rising up from his seat on the bed. We stood facing each other for a moment, neither of us too sure what to do. It was like the entire conversation we’d had at 3am suddenly rushed back to me, and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. 

He chuckled slightly before he leant just a little bit closer to me.

“Hm, I think I was wrong,” he said, his voice teasing me. “I would totally describe you as cute.”

“Go away,” I whined, covering my face and giving his arm a weak shove. He responded with another laugh, and by bringing me into his arms for a tight, but short embrace. He didn’t say anything even as we parted ways and he headed to the door.

After he was gone, all that I could think about was what it was that he needed to do before he could give me a proper response to how I felt about him.

“Ah, glad to see you’re back,” my boss said loudly as he gave me a firm pat on the back. “Feeling better?”

“Not a hundred percent, but I’m getting there,” I said with a smile as I tucked my bag away in my locker and adjusted the collar of my uniform.

“Don’t push yourself too much, alright? If you need to take a break, let me know,” he insisted.

“Thanks, sir,” I said with a nod. “I’d best be getting to work for now. Don’t want to be late.”

He laughed loudly, his cheerful and boisterous personality not letting itself be forgotten for too long.

The first two hours of my shift passed by uneventfully. That was until there was a familiar face sat at the other side of the bar, waving me down for my attention. I couldn’t place her at all, so maybe it was just a weird coincidence. 

“What can I get for you?” I asked with a wide, customer pleasing smile.

“It  _ is  _ you!” she almost yelped. “Rena, right?”

“Yes,” I said, cautiously tilting my head, trying to place her in my mind.

“It’s me!” she cooed, and I looked at her vacantly. “Medea? Y’know, from school?”

Ah, yes. That’s where I knew her from. 

I felt like my heart had caught in my throat. 

Medea, my friend who had been so obsessed with Noctis. My friend who had dragged me with her to see him almost every lunch time. My friend who I would spend the evenings with in the nearest fast food restaurant to our school. My friend who humiliated Prompto.

I forced a smile at her, very aware that if she complained I could have been in a lot of trouble. That was the last thing I wanted.

“Of course! You just look so different now, I couldn’t place you,” I lied, laughing slightly. 

“You haven’t changed a bit,” she giggled as she rested her elbows on the bar. “You managed to make it out of Insomnia then?” she asked. “Oh, and I’ll have a glass of wine.”

“I moved away before Insomnia fell,” I told her, fiddling with a glass and retrieving a bottle. 

“That was fortunate, then.”

“You were there when it fell?”

“Yeah. The Crownsguard were quite amazing when it came to evacuating people. I owe them my life,” she informed me. “But, let’s not talk about that.” I placed the glass of wine in front of her, and she slid across the exact amount of gil that it cost.

I didn’t really want to talk to her about anything, if I was being honest. But it was hard to get away from her considering the bar was still rather empty, and it would be for another hour or so. 

“I’m actually really glad that we got to see each other again,” she said with a sigh. “Truth be told, I’ve felt awful about what happened in middle school for a really long time. I wanted to apologise to you.”

Her tone seemed genuine. Maybe some distance away from the prince that she so admired had done her wonders. Regardless, I shook my head at her.

“It isn’t me that you need to apologise to.”

“Right, you’re going to say that I need to say sorry to that boy. What was his name again? Prompto?”

“That’s right.”

“I would, but I haven’t seen him since middle school. I suppose we all went our separate ways after graduation. I haven’t seen the prince in person since then either,” she sighed.

“I’d give that up. It’s been years, and he’s sort of engaged,” I giggled. She laughed along with me. 

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she chuckled. “I guess people do ridiculous things when they’re young.”

“I suppose that’s true,” I nodded. I disagreed entirely. The older I’d gotten, the more ridiculous things I’d done in my life. 

“Ah well,” she sighed before picking up her glass and taking a delicate sip. “It’s all in the past now though, isn’t it?”

“That’s true. There isn’t much you can do about that, is there?”

“Exactly my point. I’m sure you have your own regrets, so you should understand where I’m coming from, right?”

I did understand what it was like to carry regrets with me. They barely left me enough strength so that I could try and convince myself that I was worthwhile, and that I had a purpose. I understood that all too well.

“I do understand, but if I’m to be completely honest, what you did to him was cruel,” I told her, suddenly unafraid of the repercussions. 

“It didn’t exactly work out for you, either. Did it? I know that you started eating your lunch by yourself afterwards. It felt awful then, but I was too immature to really realise what I’d done.”

I pulled an uncomfortable face.

“I didn’t really mind, to be honest. No one can hurt you if you don’t let them get close in the first place, right?” I asked, trying to sound as upbeat as I could.

“I suppose that’s true, but you also miss out on the good things that come along with it,” she said, raising an eyebrow in my direction as if she’d given me something to think about. And strangely she had. 

It was then that the door to the bar opened, and Noctis of all people poked his head through the door, looking around as if he was trying to see if he was in the right place. 

“Excuse me for a minute,” I told Medea with a smile, and she nodded, raising her glass to me as I shuffled down to the other edge of the bar, waving at Noctis to try and get his attention. Once he caught sight of me, he looked relieved, and began to make his way towards me, perching himself in one of the bar stools.

“Good evening,” he said, smiling at me. “I heard the news.”

“What news?”

“That you finally told him,” he stated. “What else would I be talking about?”

“Oh, right. Of course, I almost forgot.”

“I have a good feeling about things,” he said confidently.

“Okay, I’ll have to take your word for that. Where are the others?”

“Ignis said he’d be along after he’d cleaned up a bit. He’s busy making sure we have everything for our trip, but he said he’d be along later. And I don’t know where Gladio and Prompto are. They went out earlier and I thought they’d be here by now,” he explained.

“Well, I guess that means you get the first drink,” I laughed. “What can I get you?”

“Whatever you recommend,” he smiled, turning his attention to his phone. “I’ll try and find out what the others are up to.”

My eyes scanned the cocktail menu for a few brief seconds before I saw Medea on the other end of the bar, completely frozen into place as she stared at the prince. I slowly made my way over to her, perusing the bottles lined up behind the bar as I went until I was finally close to her again.

“Don’t even think about it,” I sternly told her. “He’s here to meet his friends and have a couple of drinks before he goes off to get married.”

“You’re friends with him now?” she asked, sounding completely shocked by the situation.

“Something like that,” I mumbled. I heard the door open again, and this time, Ignis strode in, looking around. As he caught my eye, he nodded to me and gave me a quick wave before he sat himself down next to Noctis. I was almost relieved that his attendant would have made it more difficult for Medea to approach him. 

I was back up at the other end of the bar quickly, ready to talk to Ignis for a little while. 

“I was expecting you’d be much later,” I smiled at him. 

“It felt too odd letting Noctis go on ahead by himself. I’ll just have to make sure I get back at a reasonable time to finish everything off,” he informed me. “You seem a lot better than yesterday.”

“Whatever medicine it was that you got for me, it really did the trick. I can breath, my head doesn’t hurt, and I don’t feel like I’m dying. So I appreciate it. I may not be able to repay you, but I’ll make sure you guys get a couple of drinks out of me,” I smiled. “Anything you want?”

“Hm, just a glass of wine should suffice,” he nodded. 

“Well, that’s a lot easier than what Noctis asked for, so I appreciate that,” I smiled, going back to retrieve the same bottle of wine that I’d served to Medea. She was still sat on the end of the bar, staring at two of them. I tried my best to ignore her, serving Ignis his drink, and looked back at Noctis, thinking on what it was I could get for him.

Suddenly, I clapped, turning to the small refrigerator behind me and pulling out a bottle of cider that was flavoured with different kinds of berries, and presented it to him. He nodded in approval, and I quickly popped the cap before handing it to him.

“The other two are on their way now,” Ignis informed me, tucking his phone away. 

“Great! And then I can finally explain what this place is supposed to be to you. I don’t feel like repeating myself three different times,” I laughed.

Noctis shook his head at me.

“And you call  _ me  _ lazy, Ignis.”

It was then that my attention was called by Medea on the other side of the bar. 

“I’ll be back soon,” I smiled at them, and they each gave me a nod before I hopped over to the other side of the bar. “Anything I can get for you?”

“Ah, yes. Another glass please,” she smiled sweetly. I quickly set to work on getting her what she requested, and again, the gil was sat on the bar waiting for me to collect. “So, how’d you become friends with him?”

“Noctis?” 

“Obviously. I mean, I was trying my hardest in school, and it never seemed to get anywhere,” she sighed.

“It’s because he doesn’t like attention. If you’d just treated him like a regular person, you might have gotten further,” I told her honestly. 

“So that was it, huh?” she said, sipping on her wine that I’d just placed down in front of her. 

“Yeah, it really was pretty simple.”

With that, the door opened again, and Prompto and Gladio were in the doorway, panting as if they’d sprinted there together. They caught sight of Noctis and Ignis before they did me, sitting themselves alongside their friends and greeting each other.

I felt strangely conflicted as I looked at Gladio. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but just seeing him made me feel completely ashamed of myself. I tried to shake off the feeling, donning the persona of the perfect barmaid that I needed to have in order to not get myself fired. The guilt would have to wait for another time. 

“He’s cute,” I heard Medea mumble as she looked at the group.

“Who?”

“The one with the blond hair.”

What an interesting turn of events, I thought to myself. 

Just as she said it, Prompto turned to look at me and give me a small wave and a grin. I gave him a wave back before turning to the girl in front of me. She was looking at him as if she was completely mystified by him, and I almost couldn’t believe what was happening. It wasn’t that I felt nervous, or jealous particularly. 

I was actually amused, as if this was her retribution. 

“You don’t recognise him?” I asked, giving her a raised eyebrow. She frowned at me, managing to tear her eyes away from him to look at me.

“Should I?”

“You wanted a chance to apologise to him, right?”

“That’s him?! From school?!” she said in a hushed whisper. I could only nod to her before I heard someone yell at me from the other end of the bar. 

“Any chance of getting a drink over here?” Gladio yelped as he leant over the bar to make eye contact with me. I nodded, and skipped over to them.

“What would you like?”

“You’re in a good mood,” Noctis commented. I couldn’t help but wonder over to him, and beckon to him so that I could whisper in his ear. He leant over, and I cupped my hands around his ear.

“I should probably just give you a warning that the girl at the end of the bar was one of your fans in school,” I whispered. Noctis backed away from me, giving out an exasperated sigh, but I was quick to signal him back over. “Kinda seems like she might like the cute blond you have with you.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Prompto pouted, leaning over like he wanted to be let in on the conversation. 

“Nevermind that, can I get a beer?” Gladio asked impatiently.

“Sure,” I giggled as I began to get him his drink quickly. “What about you, Prompto?”

“Hm?” he asked like he wasn’t paying attention.

“Do you want a drink?” I sighed.

“Oh, sure. I’ll have whatever Noct’s got,” he finally said, looking around him. “Hey,” he said as he ushered me over towards him with his frantic signals. “Why is she staring at me?”

“Maybe she thinks you’re cute or something, I don’t know,” I shrugged. 

I felt like I was in some long, elaborate dance routine as I darted around the bar, trying to make sure that everyone was happy. It was then that my backup arrived in the form of my workmate, Amarantha. The fact that she was showing up meant it was about to get busy. She shot me a grin, and began tending to the other side of the bar, leaving me with Prompto and his friends. 

“You’re only getting one more free drink out of me, by the way,” I told them as they started to sip at their drinks. “I’d love to make sure you have a good last night in Lestallum, but I have rent to pay.”

“We can pay for these if you’d like,” Ignis offered, but I held my hand up.

“Nope. You got me that medicine so I could work again, so this is the least I can do,” I insisted. “Anyway, now that you’re all here, and it’s your first time, I should explain what this place is,” I said, pulling out a black book from under the counter, inside containing laminated pages. 

“I feel like there’s always a catch with you,” Gladio sighed before he leaned over to pay attention to my words. 

“Well, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” I chuckled, sliding the book onto the bar and opening it up. “So, we have a lot of different performers who work here. You can see them in the back over there serving food. Kind of. The place is a bit empty at the minute. Anyway, you can have a look through this book, and if you see a song you like, you can pick it, and they will perform it on that stage over there for a small fee.”

Each of the pages contained a profile of each of the performers, and a list of songs they would sing. They all came along with these elaborate photos to make them look as appealing as possible.

They flicked through the pages before Noctis looked up at me with a frown.

“But you’re not in here?” he half asked.

“Not made my way there yet,” I smiled. “One day, though.”

“Wait, so why did you bring us here?” Ignis questioned as though he were really confused. 

“Because I wanted to spend a little time with you guys before you left,” I told them, smiling as much as I could, though my heart felt heavy. “I mean, who knows when we’re going to see each other again, right?”

“That’s true,” Noctis sighed. 

“If you have any requests, let me know. It’s about to start getting busy and you’ll be fighting to get a slot if you leave it too long,” I said, suddenly feeling a thunderous clap on my back. I looked behind me to see my boss, standing there with a huge grin on his face. 

“How’s my favourite barmaid doing?” he asked, obviously somewhat concerned that I might have been pushing myself.

“I’m doing great, sir. Oh, I’ll have some things for you to take out of my wages,” I said, quickly making a note of the drinks I’d served to the four men in front of me. 

“Let me know about that at the end of your shift. So you must be her friends, right?” my boss asked, leaning closer towards them to scan their faces briefly.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Noctis smiled. That was the first time I’d heard him refer to me as a friend, and I couldn’t help but smirk to myself 

“Well, I hope you enjoy your time here,” my boss grinned at them.

“Hey, you’re her boss right?” Prompto suddenly asked, leaning up out of his seat and towards him. 

“That’s right,” he nodded. 

“You should let her audition,” Prompto insisted, and I froze in place as I looked at him. “She’s an amazing singer.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Prompto responded with a firm nod. 

“I haven’t seen her sing since middle school,” Noctis suddenly chimed in. “But she was incredible then.”

So Noctis had obviously been to the talent show, I thought.

“You want an audition?” he asked, turning to me. 

“Whenever you have time for it, sir,” I nodded, trying to exude my confidence.

“Tomorrow. Get here an hour before opening,” he offered.

“Wait, you're not gonna give her time to prepare?” Gladio suddenly asked.

“I don’t need it,” I said confidently. I knew that part of the job was being prepared for any request at any time, and this was my first test. Next to me, my boss let out a loud laugh and gave me another rough pat on the back.

“You’re going to be fine,” he laughed as he turned to head back to whatever it was that he did. 

I turned to Prompto to give him the biggest grin that could possibly fit on my face.

“Thank you,” I beamed at him, and in return, he blushed slightly giving me a nod.

It was then that all too suddenly, Medea tapped Prompto on the shoulder. He slowly turned to look at her, and I couldn’t help but watch them carefully. 

“Excuse me,” she started. “Prompto, right?”

“That’s right,” he replied, a tone of caution in his voice. 

“Do you mind if we talk for a minute?” she asked, and Prompto’s eyes were immediately locked on me. I held my hands up, as if I was washing my hands of the situation. 

“I guess that’s fine,” he mumbled.

She was immediately tugging on his arm to drag him away from his friends and my ears that were all too eager to hear her apology.

“What was that about?” Gladio asked me as we were out of earshot. “I think she just stole your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I murmured, focusing my attention on wiping down the bar. 

It seemed suddenly that people started flooding through the door, mostly droves of regulars who I saw almost every day that I was at work. At least I only had a few hours left before my shift would be finished, I thought to myself as I tore my attention away from my friends, and tried to ignore the situation with Prompto and Medea as I tended to my job.

Yet even as I readied as many drinks as I could so that people could take their seats at the tables scattered throughout the establishment, every so often I would give them a quick glance.

They talked for a long time. A really, really long time. 

I’d had to get the other three another round of drinks as they waited for him. 

The longer that it went on, the more I started to feel jealousy swell at the bottom of my stomach. I’d planned for them to come here so that I could spend a few more minutes with them before they left, but instead his attention had been completely swallowed by her. 

They even talked past the initial wave of patrons in the bar, leaving that bar barely scattered with a few stragglers. I could tell that Noctis was just as curious as I was about what was going to happen, and he made no attempt to hide his stare. 

That was when I heard the shattering of glass from their direction, and I spun around to see him holding her at arm's length. I blinked at them, trying to understand what had happened, but I had no ideas as to what on earth had occurred.

Noctis was up and out of his stool quicker than I could register what was going on. Of course he’d been keeping his eye on them a lot more keenly than I could.

“Can you get that?” Amarantha, my fellow barmaid, asked me, and I nodded, collecting the dustpan and brush that we kept in order to clean up breakages. 

I made my way from behind the bar to clean up, walking past Prompto who had been dragged away from the situation by Noctis, a confused look on his own face. I looked at the broken bottle on the floor, and sighed. At least it was empty, I thought as I began sweeping away the broken glass from the floor at Medea’s feet. 

“I don’t get it,” I heard her sigh as she collected her purse that was resting on the bar.

“What happened?” I asked her as she straightened out her clothes. 

“I guess it serves me right. I’ll be going now. It was nice to see you again,” she said, composing herself and striding out of the door. She left me with a strange feeling, and I rushed to clean up and return to the bar. As I started to make my way back to my station, I could see Noctis giving his friend a reassuring pat on the back as they stood with Gladio and Ignis.

Once I was back to my post, I immediately approached them, a curious look on my face.

“Are  _ you  _ going to explain what happened?”

“I don’t wanna,” he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“She tried to kiss him, Prompto knocked over a bottle when he went to stop her,” Noctis said bluntly. “Gotta give it to her, she didn’t mess around for months.” He gave me a knowing look after rolling his eyes. 

Even though Prompto was completely aware of my feelings towards him, Noctis’ comment made me feel embarrassed. I tried to wipe the blush away from my face, and give them a smile. Some part of me felt that just maybe he’d rejected her because of me, but I wasn’t sure if that was too much of a fantasy that I shouldn’t have indulged in.  

“She not your type, then?” I found myself asking, laughing slightly. He could only look to the floor and shake his head. I was almost thankful when I was called away to get a round of drinks for some of the regulars, because I had no idea how to react to the entire situation. 

A few minutes later, the bar was cleared of all apart from the four as everyone else had claimed their tables, ready to get their requests in.

“I didn’t realise it got so busy in here,” Prompto mumbled as I approached them. “Sorry that you had to clean that up.”

“You sound really down,” I commented as I started to clear away the empty glasses that were scattered around the surface. He just shrugged in response. I tilted my head at him, wondering what it was I could do for him. “Alright, time for me to make you guys my specialty drinks,” I said with a wink, trying to turn on my barmaid charm. 

I set out four glasses, and the four men behind them gave me their full attention.

“So, we have these drinks named after the seven contrary virtues, and I’m going to see how well I know the four of you.”

Pondering for a moment, I looked at Noctis. His was obvious. I began to pour the ingredients into a cocktail mixer - raspberry flavoured vodka, peach liqueur, strawberry purée and cranberry juice - before shaking it up and serving it to him, popping a straw in his drink to finish off the look.

“So yours is Humility,” I said, pushing the glass towards him. He tilted his head in a half nod, a smirk showing that he was somewhat impressed.

Next was Ignis. His drink was served over ice, made of layers of melon, peach and coconut flavoured liqueurs, topped off with orange juice. 

“This is Patience. Because god knows you must have an endless supply of it to put up with these three,” I giggled, offering him his glass. 

“Thank you,” he chuckled, accepting the drink from me, but it appeared that they were waiting until everyone had their drinks. 

“Hmm, now what about you?” I asked towards Gladio, who gave a low chuckle at my words. With a click of my fingers, I figured it out. Whiskey, shaken with an orange flavoured liqueur, served in a glass and then topped off with fresh lemon juice and lemonade. I presented it to him, and he looked at me expectantly. “Diligence.”

He nodded, as if he agreed with it, and pulled the drink towards him, looking almost eager to start drinking it. And finally, that left me with Prompto, and the answer for his drink was the most obvious to me.

In my cocktail mixer, I took a healthy amount of vodka, mixing it with mango and passion fruit purées and a little bit of orange juice. After that was done, and served into the glass, I lengthened it with lemonade before pushing the bright yellow drink towards him. 

“What’s this one?” he asked.

“Kindness. Or what I like to call Sunshine in a Glass,” I grinned. 

That was enough to pull a smile out of him. Before they were allowed to drink, Prompto quickly snapped a few photos. With that, they clinked their glasses together and started sipping at their cocktails. I jotted down what they’d had on my little slip of paper and tucked it into my uniform pocket so that I could hand it to my boss at the end of my shift. 

They all made sounds of approval, and I couldn’t help but feel rather proud of myself.

After they’d finished off their drinks, they decided to step out, leaving me to get back to work properly, and leaving them time to prepare to leave. Once they were gone, the rest of my shift was uneventful. I was happy that I’d managed to get through the whole thing though my nose was still stuffy and the shift had really taken the wind out of my sails. But overall, I was happy.

As I exited the building, I almost jumped as I saw a figure outside in the darkness of Lestallum. Prompto was leaning against the wall, playing on his phone.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I was waiting for you,” he grinned, tucking his phone in his pocket as he pushed himself off of the wall. “I was hoping I’d get to walk you home.”

“Please tell me you haven’t been waiting since you left,” I giggled.

“Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t, and you’ll never know,” he laughed. “So, can I walk you home?”

“I mean, I guess since you’ve been waiting so long it’d be cruel to turn you down,” I said, trying to hide the smirk on my face. 

“Well, let’s get going then,” he said, quickly snatching up my hand and lacing his fingers through mine before he started pulling me along the street in the direction of my apartment. I felt a little bit confused as I fell into step beside him.

Sure, we’d held hands before, but it was as a sign of comfort. This was different. And strangely silent, as if just holding my hand was ruining his courage completely. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and that was enough to start his brain working again.

“So, we’re leaving tomorrow,” he started, his voice telling me that he was nervous.

“I know,” I sighed. “I’ve been trying not to think about it.”

“Listen, I know you’ve been at work all evening, and it’s pretty late, but I was wondering if you’d meet me early tomorrow morning?” he managed to stutter out, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at me.

“How early are we talking?” I questioned.

“Like, 5am?” he asked, sounding almost hopeful.

“If you want me to get out of bed before 5am to get ready, you need to give me a good reason,” I joked, nudging his shoulder with my own.

“You remember when you took me to see the view of the disc?” he asked, and I nodded, humming slightly. “You said it looked really good at sunrise. So I wanted to see it before I left. And, I mean, it’d be nice to spend a bit of time together before I leave, right?”

His words made my stomach spin in circles from excitement.

“I’ll be there. You’ll totally owe me a coffee afterwards though,” I smiled.

“I know it’s your audition tomorrow too, so I know the timing isn’t great,” he sighed.

“You’ve already convinced me, Prompto. Don’t make me change my mind.”

He giggled slightly, tightening his grip on my hand. It felt like the time it took to walk from the bar to my apartment was short, as we’d arrived outside of my front door in no time. I felt loathe to let go of his hand, but I needed to get my keys. I wondered to myself if it was reasonable for me to invite him back in so that we could spend more time together, even if it was just playing King’s Knight together and getting upset at how stupid the original game was. 

I was so aware that he’d be leaving Lestallum in just a few short hours, and it made my heart ache. I had no idea how long it would be before I could see him again, or perhaps in the worst circumstances, I  _ wouldn’t _ see him again. 

“You look really sad,” he commented, still gripping onto my hand as he stood opposite me. 

“I guess I just don’t want you to go,” I said, laughing slightly to cover the pain in my voice. 

He looked sympathetic as he gave me a small smile. 

“You’ll be fine. It’ll go by super quick, and then we’ll get to go on that trip to Galdin Quay, right?” he said, trying to reassure me. I knew that I had to get myself together, at least when I was in front of him. It wouldn’t be fair if I told him all of my worries and concerns just before he left. 

“You still want to go?”

“Of course I do,” he grinned, finally letting go of my hand, and twisting his face into a somewhat bashful look. He tucked his hands into his pockets as he looked unsure as to what to do for a minute. “So, I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow morning, alright?” 

“Okay, I can’t wait,” I grinned. 

With a few seconds of silence, he leaned his face closer to mine, planting a small, light kiss on my cheek before he hastily turned around and walked towards the hotel. The gesture was so small, but it felt like it completely stunned me. All I could do was touch my cheek, exactly where he’d kissed me and watch him as he disappeared out of view. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad that you guys enjoyed the last chapter, but apparently I just want you to suffer just a little bit longer. Anyway, I should probably mention as a just incase thing, there are going to be spoilers for FFXV in the next few chapters if you still haven't gotten around to finishing it. Please finish it. It's a good game, I promise.


	18. Chapter 18

Early the next morning, at about 4:30am, I was scrambling around my apartment to try and get myself together to meet Prompto so that we could spend the last morning he had in Lestallum together. Whenever I let myself think about it for too long, it felt as if my heart was being squeezed tightly, and it hurt.

With my bag ready, makeup on, hair brushed and teeth cleaned, I could say that I was ready to go out, although not entirely ready to be awake. With a few minutes left, I got to sit on my bed and just think.

I wondered if Prompto was going to tell me his response to his feelings before he left, or if he’d just leave for Altissia without saying a word about it. I wouldn’t have doubted it, because when it came to women, he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with talking to them. 

Just as I started to get lost in my thoughts, there was a knock at my door. With a large breath, I wondered over to it, pulling it open to see Prompto’s grinning face. He looked as he always did, cheerful, dressed in his Crownsguard garb, but this time, he had a bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Morning!” he chirped.

“You seem excited,” I commented, trying to suppress a yawn.

“Of course I am. I have a feeling I’m going to get some good photos today,” he said, giving me a cheerful wink. “You ready to go?”

I nodded, collecting my bag and fiddling with my keys to lock the door behind us. I felt nervous, and sad, but it was hard to stay frowning with Prompto impatiently bouncing behind me. As soon as I’d finished locking the door, he quickly grabbed my hand and began pulling me along in a light jog down the street. 

By the time we were looking out over the view of the disc, the sky was just beginning to lighten, but the sun had yet to peak it’s head over the mountains in the distance. 

“So, it rises from over there, right?” he said pointing towards the horizon, and I nodded slightly. He set his bag down and began to carefully pull his tripod out of it, and began setting it up. 

“You hoping to get some good photos of the sunrise?” I asked, and he shot me a grin.

“Something like that.”

As he carried on setting it up, all I was left to do was look out over the view of the disc, watching as the sky turned from the black canvas of night to the pale blue of the day. When he was finished, he let out a sigh, and looked out at the view. He stood next to the camera with his arms folded across his chest, letting out these hefty sighs on occasion as he waited for whatever he deemed to be the perfect moment for a photo. 

“Am I in the way?” I asked, and he gave his head a firm shake. 

“I was hoping we could get a photo together,” he mumbled, his voice telling of how nervous he was. I just couldn’t work out why. 

Eventually, the sun peeked over the mountain enough for him to let out a long, shaky breath.

“You ready?” he asked, and I immediately began fussing with my hair before giving him a nod. After another long breath and a few button presses, he was quickly jogging towards me. “We have like, 12 seconds,” he told me as he reached me. He was quick to wrap his arm around my waist and pull me in close to him. 

“Wait!” I said as I spun towards him. “I don’t know how I should pose!”

“You can just follow my lead, it’s fine!” he said, almost too nervous. After another large exhale, he turned to me. “Hey,” he said, catching my attention. I looked up at him, and the next few moments seemed to happen so quickly that I hardly had time to process it. 

Carefully, and ever so gently, his lips captured my own in a sweet and unsure kiss. It lasted for a few seconds before he pulled away, and started looking at my face, looking for any sign as to how I was feeling. 

I felt almost dizzy as he looked at me, the blush on his face evident. My heart was beating hard against my chest, as I thought of what I should do. The only thing I  _ could  _ do was slide my hand up to the side of his face and gently pull it back down to my own. 

He didn’t hesitate in giving me a second kiss, followed by a third, and then a fourth. By the fifth, my hand was tangled in his hair and his fingers were greedily pulling at my hips. It was more frantic, as if neither of us were holding anything back. It was messy, in a way, as we both figured out what the other one was enjoying, but it felt like my heart was about to burst. 

Men never made me feel like this. Somehow, Prompto had changed that.

Eventually we pulled away from each other as we gasped for lungfuls of air. I looked at him, waiting for him to say something. His freckle dusted cheeks were pink in the morning light, and I couldn’t help but notice the smirk that was pulling at his lips.

“So, yeah,” he finally said through a nervous voice. My hands came to rest on his chest as I steadied myself, and his were still tightly holding onto my hips.

“Yeah,” I nodded. 

“I needed to make sure that Gladio was okay with it,” he admitted, and I tilted my head as if I was questioning him. “I didn’t want to make him mad since we’re going to be spending so much time together.”

“Was he okay with it?”

He nodded in response, before he had a look of realisation on his face. He smiled at me gently as his hand came up to comb through my hair.

“Y’know, I had a huge crush on you in school,” he admitted, his voice still telling of his nerves. “After you stuck up for me, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I was pretty upset when I realised we went to different schools.” 

I smiled at him widely as he began to tell me what it was that he felt. It felt like a dream. An unfair dream that would only serve to make my reality that much worse. One that I never wanted to wake up from.

“I didn’t really have any idea of how to find you, but I always thought that if I met someone like you that I’d have a better chance after I changed. But I guess I never found anyone else who was like you.” 

He let out a small chuckle before he pressed his lips to my forehead and brought me in for a tight hug. His hands that were gripping at my hips had wrapped around my waist, and the way that he was holding me told me that he had no intention of letting me go. 

“I think I’m rambling. But when I saw you again in Hammerhead, it was so weird. Like, I never thought I’d get to see you again, but it feels kind of like it was fate in some weird way. Don’t you think?”

I nodded in agreement, my eyes meeting his own. Something in his gaze at me told me that he was genuinely quite happy at that moment.

“I remember after we saw each other, it was like all of my stupid, teenager feelings for you were back too. And I never realised how easy it was supposed to be around someone that you like until then. You didn’t make me feel nervous or anything. You just made me happy,” he admitted, finishing his sentence with a mumble.

“You’re rambling,” I pointed out with a giggle and he released me from the hug to look at me with serious eyes.

“You’re right,” he said, taking in a deep breath and exhaling loudly. “I really like you. I really, really like you. I have for a really long time.”

My heart felt fit to burst from happiness.

“I really like you too,” I admitted with a strange wobble in my voice. I almost sounded like I was about ready to start sobbing. I felt that way too. “I mean that genuinely. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone before.”

A huge grin began to spread across both of our faces. 

“So, uhm, I’ve never really had a girlfriend before,” he muttered, biting his lip in an attempt to stop his smile, and I tilted my head at him again. He looked nervous at his words.

“You don’t have to push yourself, Prompto,” I said with a smile. “This much is enough.”

“I want to push myself, though,” he confessed with a murmur. “I want you to be my girlfriend. Really badly.”

He looked adorably shy as he spoke, and I really had to hold myself back from gathering him up in my arms and protecting him from the world. 

“So, I don’t know what you think?” he half asked, finally tearing his eyes away from me as if he was scared that I’d reject his proposition. I used my fingers to turn his face back to my own, and smiled at him with as much reassurance as I could muster.

“I’d love that.”

It was as if I’d forgotten about my doubts in myself, and that I’d forgotten that I thought that I didn’t deserve someone so perfect in my life. I just wanted to be his, and I wanted him to be mine, and that was all I could think about. 

“Really?”

“Of course!”

He enveloped me in his arms once again, this time, his arms were tightly wrapped around my shoulders, and he gave me another quick kiss before he let me go. 

“Okay, cool. Well, that worked out pretty well,” he laughed as he grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards the camera. He took it off of the tripod and peered at the screen, his face lighting up at what he saw. “Hey, what do you think? I got our first kiss on camera!” he said excitedly, turning the camera around so that I could look at it properly.

My eyes focused on the screen, and smiled at the image. We were just silhouettes against the glorious morning light, our lips pressed together. It was a gorgeous photograph that I couldn’t help but grin at. 

“Isn’t it technically our second kiss?” I asked him and he firmly shook his head.

“That truth or dare thing totally doesn’t count,” he pouted, and I couldn’t help but giggle at him.

“I’d love to get a copy of this.”

“Of course! It’ll have to wait until I’m back because I don’t think we have a lot of time before we leave,” he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. He perked up a little bit quite quickly. “I actually have something to give you. Do you mind giving me a minute?” he asked, and I nodded. He quickly began to pack up his tripod and tuck it back into his bag before he happily grabbed my hand and lead me to the nearest bench. 

We sat next to each other as he began to open his bag, but with a smile, I placed my hand on top of his to still him for a minute.

“I actually have something I’d like to give you first,” I insisted. He stopped fidgeting with the zip on his bag to give me all of his attention. From my own bag, I presented something to him that I knew he’d long forgotten about, but he immediately recognised it as soon as it was in his hands.

“You kept this?” he asked, seemingly confused by the textbook that was in his grasp.

It was the book he’d leant me when we were in school together, all about the rules of composition, and how to take a good photograph. It was certainly more beat up than it was when he leant it to me five years ago, but it was one of the only things I didn’t have the heart to throw away when I left Insomnia.

“I guess I was hoping to return it to you one day,” I told him with a smile. 

He took a few seconds to flick through the pages of the book, nodding as if he recognised everything that was within it.

“But why?” he asked, giving a half chuckle. 

“I couldn’t tell you. I just thought that one day I might get the chance to return it to you,” I explained, and he nodded in understanding. It was then that he looked up from the book and leant towards me, planting a long, firm kiss on my lips. His fingers came to rest very lightly on my jaw, as if he was pulling me in just slightly. I felt like I missed him immediately when he pulled away from me. 

“I guess you really did care about me, huh?” he asked, giving me one of his dazzling smiles, making the freckles that decorated his nose scrunch up in his unashamed happiness. “Will you hold onto it for just a bit longer?”

“As long as you promise to come back and get it from me,” I mumbled.

“Promise,” he said, nodding firmly. “It’s my turn, anyway.”

Once again, he began nervously fumbling with the bag to his side, and he pulled out a gift that was wrapped in the same blue paper as the photo frame that he’d given me; the gift that sat proudly on my bedside table along with the flowers that were slowly wilting away.

I gave it a squeeze, trying to figure out what was inside of the wrapping and turned to him.

“It is a book?” I asked.

“Just open it,” he giggled.

I obliged, tearing away the paper to reveal a leather bound book with string keeping the pages together. I frowned as I turned to him, not exactly understanding what it was.

“Look inside,” he told me as he scooted closer to me to rest his chin on my shoulder. 

I untied the string and opened the front cover cautiously. Inside was what must have been every photo we’d taken together over the last handful of months, stuck to the pages with decorated tapes and cute chocobo stickers. Along with every photograph was a little brief handwritten message, telling me exactly what the context was.

The first photo was the blurry image from our first night together in Hammerhead. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the message he’d written along with it. 

_ This is from when we first saw each other again. I needed to level up my photography skills. _

I couldn’t help but giggle as I flipped through the pages that were full of these beautiful photographs that served as this physical history of how we’d reunited, and started out our friendship. Some messages were long, and he insisted that I read them properly later as he was eager to get through the rest of the pages that contained all of the photos from our trip together, or the photos from the hot pot we’d eaten just a few days prior, or from the bar just the night before. I noticed that even as we were getting to the end of all of the photos he could have possibly could have taken, there were still tonnes of pages left.

Then, as I flipped over to the next page, my heart stopped. 

At the top of the page was that day's date, decorated with different coloured pens. Underneath was a space big enough to fit a photograph in, and underneath, he’d written me another little message.

_ This day was the day I finally got enough courage to ask you to be my girlfriend. _

I couldn’t help it. He was just far too adorable for me to handle. My hand was over my mouth as I read the message, the overwhelming happiness in my chest being far too much for me to know what I was supposed to do with. I, in no way, deserved such an incredible gift. The tears started stinging my eyes as I sniffled slightly, trying my best to compose myself.

I couldn’t think of a time that I’d even even been in the presence of someone so perfect. 

“Do you like it?” he asked, almost nervous.

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” I sniffed, turning to look at him as a single tear slipped down my cheek. He smiled at me with that kind smile that he always had, and brushed it away with the tips of his fingers. 

“When we get back, and we can go on more trips, I left more pages for you to do yourself,” he said, grinning at me. With a wry smile, I looked at him from under my eyelashes.

“It’d be more fun if we could do it together,” I mumbled. He rested his forehead against my own as he laughed slightly, and everything about it felt overwhelming to me. The way that his hair tickled my cheek, the way that I could feel his breath on my face, the way that he slowly ran his hand up my arm. It felt like heaven.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he grinned, and I couldn’t resist moving my hand to his neck as I brought him into another kiss, feeling like the ones I’d already had just weren’t enough. It was only then that I really got to appreciate how soft his lips were as he began to work them against my own. They were gentle, almost as if he was afraid of hurting me. All they really served to do was start this insatiable hunger within me that made me feel like I’d never quite have enough of him. 

All I could do was desperately pull him closer to me, tangling my fingers into the back of his hair, hoping that he’d understand just how much I needed him at that moment. It took a few seconds, but after what felt like a lifetime, his hand came to grip at the side of my neck, his thumb reaching up to trace the line of my jaw as he experimentally moved his mouth in particular way that told me he wanted more. He didn’t seem all too sure of himself in that moment, but I was all too happy to grant him entry, running my tongue along his own as gently as I could manage. 

It just felt so perfect that it made me dizzy, and involuntarily I let out a small, quiet and muffled moan. The noise seemed to set off fireworks in his brain as suddenly he was gripping at me just that little bit tighter, his other hand wrapping it’s way around my waist as he tried to pull me closer to him.

“Mom!” I heard a voice cry out suddenly, sending us both reeling back from each other. “Look, look!”

As I caught my breath, I watched as a young girl tugged her mother along to look at the view of the disc, the sun glinting off of it in the most magnificent ways. They didn’t seem to notice us as we sat, gasping for air. I looked at Prompto, who was biting on his bottom lip, his cheeks the reddest I’d ever seen them, a look in his eyes telling me that he wasn’t quite satisfied. 

After a few mere seconds, he dug through his pocket to find his phone, letting out a grumble as he checked the screen.

“Ignis just text me,” he mumbled. “Seems like you’re invited to breakfast with us.”

“Right now?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he sighed. He didn’t seem to be in a rush to go anywhere as he rested his head on my shoulder. “I think he could stand it if we were a few minutes late.”

I giggled slightly, resting my head atop his as we watched the sun rise higher into the sky for a few minutes. His hand had found mine at some point, and he’d been quick to tangle our fingers together. We didn’t say anything to each other. We were both perfectly content to just be in each others company for as long as we could manage. 

Once Prompto had realised that it was getting to the point where he’d be trying Ignis’ patience, he lifted his head up and smiled at me.

“Oh, one more thing,” he said as he took his hand back to pull off the bandana he’d always kept tied around his arm. Without asking me, he began to fix it around my wrist, making sure it was tied properly. “Take this with you to your audition tonight.”

“Why?” I found myself asking. I’d never seen him without it, and his arm look strangely bare.

“Because then you might remember that at least I think you’re amazing, and you can totally nail this audition. It’s just the only way I can support you for now,” he mumbled, seeming almost upset. “I can’t wait to see you sing when I’m back,” he continued, suddenly breaking out his huge smile. 

It honestly warmed my heart, but there was something that started eating away at the back of my mind.

“Can I ask you something?” He nodded in response to my question. “Are you seriously okay with what happened with me and Gladio?”

“I mean, if I’m to be honest, it does bother me a little bit,” he said, biting his lip almost nervously. “But I meant what I said. I care about who you are now more than about who you were. And if you were really serious about hating yourself the other day, I’ve got to make sure that my feelings for you make up for that until you don’t anymore,” he admitted, giggling slightly.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” I mumbled, giving him one last chaste kiss. 

“I feel the same way,” he grinned, and I tilted my head, giving him an almost sarcastic look. “I-I mean, I feel the same way about you.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at how flustered he seemed. I untangled my hand from his as I slid the two books into my bag, and we both hauled ourselves up from the bench, ready to go and greet the other three for their last meal before they left. 

I felt so conflicted. On one hand, I was ecstatic. I could finally call Prompto my boyfriend as we’d somehow managed to move past the threshold of what was a close friendship. That was enough to make my heart soar. But on the other hand, it felt almost unfair that in an hour or two, we’d have to say goodbye to one another. That was something I absolutely didn’t feel like I was ready for. 

We walked together hand in hand towards The Surgate’s Beanmine as I expected, as it was much better than the food served at the end of the market. It felt like more of an appropriate place to say our goodbyes as they set off on what I hoped would be the last leg of their journey. 

Noctis was the first one to catch sight of us, his face lighting up as he saw our hands locked into one another. He let out a small laugh as he gave us a wave, forcing Ignis and Gladio to turn and look at us. Ignis almost rolled his eyes, though I couldn’t quite work out why, and Gladio shot us a small, half hearted smile. 

“Finally,” Noctis laughed as we took up the two remaining empty seats next to each other. I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Prompto just gave a giggle in return, reaching his fist out to his best friend who bumped it against his own. 

“Y’know, you should really thank Noct, he was the one who convinced me it was a good idea to ask you out,” Prompto whispered to me, and I gave the Prince a look. He didn’t seem phased at all by my stare, he just carried on grinning, looking proud of himself. 

“Ah, I see. So he’s been giving both of us advice,” I drawled, leaning over the table towards him.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Prompto asked.

“The bastard figured it out,” I sighed, plucking up one of the menus and giving it a good look over. Noctis still had an almost smug look on his face. With a sigh, I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “Thank you, Noctis.”

“Hold on. Noctis?” the prince questioned as he pushed himself up in his seat. “Since when have you called me Noctis?”

“Since always? I mean, it’s your name right?” I questioned, puzzled.

He waved his hand in front of his face and shook his head.

“No, no. You’re my friend. The rule is that my friends call me Noct.”

“I didn’t get the guide on being friends with you, I’m afraid,” I joked. After his laughter had subsided, I gave him a serious look. “But in that case, thank you, Noct.” He gave me a nod, acknowledging my gratitude, and I knew that when he returned, I’d owe him big time. 

“Congratulations, you two,” Gladio mumbled, focused on the menu in front of him. I gave him a nod, really unsure of how I was supposed to act around him. I thought that maybe I should have been thankful that he was supportive enough to send Prompto as his substitute for the date, but he didn’t seem like he was actually happy for the two of us. 

“Anyway, now that we’ve dealt with that matter, I think we should get some breakfast,” Ignis smiled. I nodded in agreement, feeling almost desperate to get a cup of coffee to help wake me up, though I was sure I’d be trying to nap before my audition in almost no time. 

Breakfast passed by in a quick blur of mundane conversations, each of us talking as much as we could in between mouthfuls of food. Every so often, Prompto’s hand would reach over to give my knee a quick squeeze, almost as if he was begging me to not forget that he was still there as I talked. 

With this group of four travellers who had seen their fair share of hardships along the road, I felt like I belonged. I felt that I really was friends with them, and they weren’t just putting up with me for Prompto’s sake. 

It wasn’t just Prompto that I’d miss. 

I’d miss the way Ignis would sigh as if he was running out of patience for his comrades, and I’d miss the way he’d give Noct lectures on the smallest of things, or the way he’d act almost like a father to the youngest two. 

However awkward it was, I’d miss Gladio’s ability to make light of almost any situation, and the tiny ways which he’d demonstrate his loyalty to his friends. 

I’d miss the way that Noct would almost fall asleep anytime he was given the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes, and I’d miss the way he somehow gave me this silent push forward, as if he was telling me that everything would work out.

And for Prompto, there wasn’t a single thing I wouldn’t miss about him. 

I could say that with the four of them, they had changed my life for the better. I was already excited about the prospect of them returning, and eating hot pot with them again. Just this time, without truth or dare. 

After about an hour had passed, Ignis looked at his watch, and let out a quiet sigh.

“It’s about time,” he said, giving Prompto a knowing look. He was so aware that what was to follow was going to suck, at least for the pair of us. “Why don’t you two go on a walk for half an hour? We’ll get everything packed up and meet you at the Regalia,” he suggested, and Prompto gave him a grin in return.

“You’re sure?” Prompto asked him, and in return, they all nodded at him. 

“Just don’t be late, alright?” Gladio asked, giving us a smirk.

Without even giving me a minute to thank them, Prompto was pulling me up out of my seat, allowing me just enough time to collect my bag which contained his precious gift, before he was tugging on my hand and pulling me away. 

Thirty minutes was just not enough time. I knew it, Prompto knew it. There was nothing we could do but wander through the streets of Lestallum, tightly holding each other's hands, needing to just appreciate being with each other for as long as we could. Every so often when we’d walk through a particularly empty street, he’d pull me in for these small, almost shy kisses. They weren’t enough to let us get too carried away, but they were enough to remind me that the day was real.

Prompto really was my boyfriend, and the longer I thought on it, the more I realised that it wasn’t a dream. 

As our time was beginning to come to an end, he turned to me, and gave me an unsure look, almost as if he felt insecure.

“You gonna miss me when I’m gone?” he asked. 

“What kind of question is that?” I giggled, giving his hand a squeeze. “Obviously I am.”

“So you’re not going to forget about me?” 

“Of course not. I mean, I didn’t forget about you for all those years, did I?” I smiled, giving my bag a pat to remind him of the textbook I’d kept for so long. “What about you? You gonna miss me?”

“Of course I am,” he mumbled, bringing my hand up to his lips to press a small kiss to the back of it. “And I’m never going to forget about you either.”

“Just promise me you’ll come back safe, okay? You’re so not allowed to ask me to be your girlfriend and then go and get yourself hurt,” I pouted, trying to make it seem like I was just joking as I was determined to see him off with the biggest smile I could muster. 

He looked at me, and then glanced around to see that we were in a narrow alleyway, completely alone. Biting his lip, he was suddenly pushing me up against the nearest wall, looking into my eyes as he tilted my head up with just the tips of his fingers.

“I’m coming back.”

His tone was serious, and I could tell that he genuinely believed it with every fibre of his being. I nodded to him, telling him that I understood. Just as he was about to lower his lips onto mine in what I expected to be the most ferocious kiss yet, his phone rang in his pocket. He hung his head for a moment, as if he was irritated by the interruption, but still, he dug it out of his pocket.

“Is it already that time?” he asked with a sigh as he answered the phone. I near Ignis’ voice very faintly on the other end. “Alright, we’re on our way.”

With that, he hung up, and gave me a small smile.

“Save it for next time?” he asked, and I nodded. At least that would give me time to mentally prepare myself, I thought. He still gave me a brief kiss before pushing himself away from me. With that, we were off to the Regalia.

As I watched the four men around the car get ready for their journey, it genuinely felt as if I was aching. I didn’t want them to leave, but I knew that they had far more important things to do than stay in Lestallum. They had to see Noct off to his wedding. That was my understanding. 

It was when their preparations were finished that they all turned to me. It made me feel nervous. It was like a fog had descended on us. 

“H-hey, what’s with the atmosphere?” I said, giving an unsure giggle.

“We have to go,” Noct told me. I nodded, taking in a deep breath to ready myself. Noct was the first to approach me, though unsure, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and brought me in for a tight hug that lasted just a few seconds. Before he pulled away, I heard him chuckle. “I told you it’d work out, right?”

I couldn’t help but giggle at him slightly, squeezing his shoulders in return.

“Right. You should have told me about it sooner,” I whispered. He pulled away from me, giving me a happy smile that felt like a rarity.

“Just look after him when he’s back, alright?” 

Ah, those words were the thing that reminded me that he would be with Lunafreya, and he’d no longer be with his friends. The thought made me sad.

“Just make sure to visit, alright?” I said, pursing my lips.

“Alright, I’ll put it on the list of things to do,” he joked, finally giving me a pat on the shoulder.

Gladio was next, shoving his hands in his pockets as if he didn’t really know what it was he was supposed to do. Leaving things on such an awkward note was the last thing I wanted to do, so I held my arms out towards him, and with a laugh, he scooped me up into a quick hug that he didn’t let linger for too long.

“See you soon,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah, take care of yourself, Gladio,” I smiled, and he backed away to take his seat in the back of the car. 

Then, Ignis, who gave me a polite bow.

“I’d like to thank you for sharing your hot pot recipe with me. I’m sure if Prompto starts to miss you too much, that will keep him quiet for a while,” he told me, the serious tone in his refined voice present as always.

I put my hands on my hips and pouted.

“If you’re going to steal my recipe, you at least have to give me a hug goodbye.”

I was sure that Ignis would stay with Noct as long as he possibly could, being his advisor and all. He looked up, and gave me wry smile before nodding. It was possible that the hug we shared was even shorter than the one that Gladio had given me, but I didn’t mind. The fact that I’d gotten anything from him felt like an accomplishment. He backed away, and climbed into the driver's seat, adjusting his seat to make sure he was comfortable.

That left me with Prompto, the one I wanted to say goodbye to the least.

He approached me with a sigh, not even hesitating to gather me up in his arms, holding me tightly for a long while. I’d managed to keep myself composed while saying goodbye to everyone else, but it felt like my heart was shattering in my chest as he held me. I had no idea how long it would be until we’d see each other again, and in the past months since Insomnia had fallen, the world felt a lot less safe.

I tried to push the thought out of my head as I gathered up handfuls of his jacket and buried my face into his shoulder, breathing in the last lungfuls of the sweet scent that clung to his clothes that time would afford me. 

“I’ll be back,” he said, reassuring me as I started sniffling, stroking patterns on my back. 

“Yeah, I know. Still doesn’t make this suck any less,” I mumbled, to which he chuckled. He finally pushed me away from him, and I could see that his eyes were red, as if he was trying his best to hold back his tears, where I just couldn’t.

“I know,” he laughed, letting just a single tear fall from his eye. I was quick to wipe it away, appreciating the few seconds I had just to feel his smooth and soft, freckle dusted skin under my fingertips.

With that, he gave me one last kiss, firm yet chaste before he pulled away. 

There was nothing else that needed to be said. 

With that, he backed away from me, and slowly turned to climb into his seat. I wiped at my face, trying to clean up the trails of tears that were clinging to my cheeks.

“Oh!” I heard Noct yell from the back seat of the car as the engine started, catching my attention. “Don’t forget to kick ass at your audition!”

Gladio and Prompto cheered slightly as if they were agreeing, and I nodded. As the car started to pull away, I gave them a small wave, which they all returned. I watched as the car left the car park, and slowly disappeared from my view.

Little did I know that that was the last moment that I’d ever see the Regalia. That was the last conversation I would ever have with Noct. That was the last moment that I could pretend that their adventure would be a safe, and fruitful one.  
  
When they returned, everything would have changed. And as I stood in the car park, trying my hardest to compose myself, I was completely oblivious and unaware.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! It finally happened! Now people can actually not be frustrated at them now! Hooray! Thanks so much for reading, as always <3


	19. Chapter 19

What started as frequent text messages exchanged between me and Prompto quickly vanished. He’d stuck to his word, and sent me messages every few hours, sometimes with photos attached of the beautiful scenery of Altissia, and that lasted a couple of weeks at most.

I remember the day that I felt like a part of me had almost died.

There I was, in the bar that I worked at, preparing for my shift along with a few of my work mates who I’d been working on becoming friends with. The radio in the background played light music as we conversed in the locker room about nothing of importance. We’d been laughing and enjoying ourselves until suddenly the music cut out, interrupted by a breaking news report.

All of us stopped and turned to look at the radio as if it had done something offensive, but the report that followed made me feel like my heart had stopped and lodged itself in my throat.

I couldn’t even process the words as the man on the radio spoke.

He talked of a tragedy that had hit Altissia, causing major collateral damage to the area, and I immediately felt my heart shatter, followed by an indescribable worry for my friends.

“You okay?” Amarantha suddenly asked me, placing a hand on my back which spurred me to life. I spun to my locker and began digging through my things to find my phone.

“My friends are in Altissia,” I said in a panic, my voice quivering. “My boyfriend…”

“Hey,” she said, her voice calm. “They haven’t reported any casualties,” she reminded me.

That didn’t matter to me. I knew how wrong the news could be at times. I couldn’t help but recall when the news had reported on Noct’s death, and how untrue that turned out to be. With my shaking hands, I managed to find Prompto’s number, and pressed the call button, charges on my phone bill be damned.

It rang. It rang and rang but there was never an answer.

Next, I called Ignis. Again, there was no answer. Noct. No answer. Gladio. The same again. No answer.

Panic bubbled up from within me as I slumped on the bench, looking at my phone in terror. It was then that the boss walked in, a serious look on his face. He scanned the room to see me. Maybe he’d paid attention when I’d talked of my friends who were travelling to Altissia.

Every awful thought possible went through my head. What if they were hurt? Or worse? What was I supposed to do then? Would I even know one way or the other?

I could feel hot tears sting at my eyes as I sat there, unable to take in anything around me as I thought that Prompto would be breaking his promise.

“Hey,” my boss said, giving me a slight shake, snapping my attention to him. “Do you want to take the day off?” he asked, and I didn’t know how to respond.

There was no way I’d be able to properly work, but going home to worry about it on my own seemed like an equally terrible idea. I just wordlessly shook my head, my mouth agape. I knew that he was concerned for me, but there was little I could do.

“Alright. Take your time here for a while, I’ll be back to check on you soon.”

With that, he quickly left, leaving his staff mumbling in his wake. Amarantha sat herself down next to me and tried to give me a reassuring pat on the back, but I still had no idea what to do. She carried on trying to comfort me until she had her shift to attend to, leaving me alone in the locker room.

It felt like hours where I sat there, staring at my phone just waiting for something to happen. Eventually, my phone started buzzing, telling me that Prompto was calling me. Immediate relief washed over me as I quickly answered the phone.

“Prompto?” I asked, nervously and cautiously as I held the receiver up to my ear.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “Did I worry you?”

That was when I just couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. They weren’t tears of grief or sadness, but tears of the biggest relief I’d ever felt.

“Don’t do that to me,” I sobbed, holding my head in my hand. “Are you okay? Is everyone else okay?”

“We’re alive,” he told me, almost as if he was trying to avoid telling me something.

“Prompto?”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s been a hell of a day,” he sighed. “I can’t talk for long, but we’re all alive.” I sniffed, trying desperately to compose myself. I heard a small, half hearted chuckle on the other end of the phone. “I have that promise to keep, right?”

“Yeah,” I sniffed, wiping at my face.

“Hey, listen. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I think that keeping in touch with you is going to be a little difficult for a while,” he mumbled. “But I’ll be back before you know it, alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then just wait, alright?”

With one last sniff, I nodded, making a noise of agreement.

“I have to go,” he murmured.

“Okay, just don’t scare me like that again,” I told him, and I heard a light giggle in response.

“I’ll do my best,” he said, and I could tell he was smiling on the other end of the phone. “I’ll see you soon.”

With that, he quickly hung up, leaving me to get myself together and finally get started on my shift.

It was weeks later, and I hadn’t heard a single thing from Prompto. I just had to trust that he was okay, and that was all I could do. I naturally woke up from my slumber on that day, my eyes inching open, expecting to be greeted by the bright sunlight of the day. But they weren’t. Outside was as dark as the night.

I jolted out of bed, grabbing for my phone, expecting to call my boss to apologise for how late I was, but as the time caught my eye, I stopped.

“Mid… day?” I mumbled to myself. I frowned, rubbing my eyes to get rid of the sleep that almost hindered my vision and peeked out of the window. Sure as anything, it was as if it was the middle of the night, the only light I could see was from the street lights and glowing windows. “What on earth is going on?”

I stumbled out of bed, not really sure about how to figure things out. I wanted to call Prompto, because the feeling of worry had settled on my chest and it felt suffocating. I knew that if anyone was going to alleviate the feeling, it was him.

My second option was to call one of the only friends I had in Lestallum, Amarantha. The longer that Prompto had been gone, the more time we’d spent together. She’d been there to comfort me when I needed it, or just to hang out with me when I was lonely, or even just to eat at The Suragate’s Beanmine with me when I was awake for lunch.

I held the phone up to my ear, nervously biting my lip as I waited for her to answer.

“Hey,” she answered, sounding equally as confused as I felt.

“Do you have any idea of what’s going on?”

“Not a clue, I’ve been listening to the news but no one seems to know what’s happening,” she sighed. “It looks like they’re advising everyone get to Lestallum as quickly as possible.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s apparently, like, super dangerous out there. Y’know. Because of the daemons?”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about that,” I mumbled. After a moment of silence, she chuckled slightly.

“Worried about your boyfriend?” she asked.

“Oh, shut up,” I grumbled, annoyed that she seemed to be able to read my mind. “See you at work later?”

“Sure. Don’t worry about him too much,” she giggled.

“I said shut up,” I whined as I hung the phone up, and perched myself on the bed, turning the TV on to listen to the news.

More weeks passed. It must have been months since Prompto had left, and I’d hardly heard anything from him. I tried my best to keep myself busy to keep my mind off of him and the worry that was always somewhere within me. It seemed that the dream catcher decorated with chocobo feathers that hung over my bed was doing very little to keep these vivid nightmares at bay.

That morning, I bolted upright as I came out of my sleep, pressing the palms of my hands into my eyes as I tried to forget the dream I had. Every night seemed the same as I dreamt of an injured Prompto, desperately clinging to the last threads of his life, and all I could do was watch.

I had a horrible, foreboding feeling that something was wrong. I just didn’t know what it was. I’d slept very little, but the prospect of going back to sleep felt uninviting at the very least. Sighing, I pulled myself out of bed to collect the scrapbook that Prompto had made for me before I crawled back into the depths of my duvet, the warmth of the eiderdown making me feel somewhat secure for a few moments.

I hardly ever let myself look at the book that he’d given me before he left, because more often than not, it just felt painful to think about, and it only served to make me miss him more. But that day, I just needed to remind myself of his dumb, goofy smile. The smile that I missed more than anything.

I peeled back the pages, immediately greeted by the photo of us from Hammerhead.

_This is from when we first saw each other again. I needed to level up my photography skills._

I read the words over and over again, taking in the quirks of his messy but legible handwriting. I couldn’t help but run my fingers along it before I turned the page, the spine making slight cracking sounds as I did so. The next photos were from the car ride the morning after. There were a few that he’d taken along the road, either of me pulling an unimpressed face as Noct slept beside me, or selfies where he was grinning as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

_This was the day we took you a little closer to Lestallum. We were both really hungover after a stupid dare. Let’s try to forget that part._

Smiling slightly, I turned the page again. I was greeted by a photograph of the first hot pot I’d made him, and he somehow managed to photograph it in such a way that it looked like the most delicious meal that had ever been.

_This was the best meal I’ve ever had. Don’t tell Ignis that, though._

Across, on the page opposite, was the photo we’d taken as we looked out over the disc. That photo that I already had framed on my bedside table. The photo he’d taken at the exact moment that I realised I liked him. Just looking at it set off the swirling butterflies in my stomach.

_Then, you took me to see the view of the Cauthess Disc so I could take photos. The best part was that I got to spend more time with you._

I turned the page eagerly, realising that I hadn’t properly read most of the messages he’d left me, as he’d told me to hurry up. Since then, it had just been too much to look at it. The next photo was the one that he’d taken on the day that the group left, as we ate at the ‘diner’ at the end of the market. His head was resting atop my own, as all five of us smiled for the photo.

_This was the day we left Lestallum. I wanted to stay with you a little longer.  
_ _This was also the first day you held my hand, though you totally didn’t mean to._

Sniggering slightly, my eyes fell onto the opposite page that was full of writing, the blank spaces filled in with different patterned tapes and stickers.

_When we came back after what felt like forever, I noticed that you were really sad. I thought of what it was that I could do for you, so I asked Noct if I could borrow the car. At first, he laughed at me. Then he asked me “you like her, don’t you?” and I didn’t really know what to say. He knows me way too well, y’know? He agreed, after making me admit it, of course. When we first got in the car, I had no idea where we were going, and we totally took the long way to go and see the chocobos. But I thought that if there was anything that was going to cheer you up, it was going to see them.  
_ _I also lied to you on this day. I told you I wanted to take photos of you, but that wasn’t entirely true. I just wanted to spend more time with you. You figured it out pretty quickly. I guess I can be pretty selfish, huh?_

I flicked to the next page, and he’d made this wonderful collage of all of the photos from the chocobo outpost. Not all of them had us in them. Some of them were just of the birds that he loved oh so much. Tucked into the corner was a photo of they keyring I’d bought him as he cradled it in his gloved hand. There was hardly any space for a message, but he’d managed to squeeze one in.

_This was the day that I realised that you were way cuter than any chocobo I’d ever seen.  
_ _(I’ll also always have this keyring in my pocket to remind me of our trip!)_

That dumb message was enough to set me off, half laughing, half crying as I re-read it over and over again until I tore myself away from it to see what else he’d got in store for me. The next photos were from the following day, the first one was of us stood outside that famous diner that he loved to eat at.

_We stayed in the motel in Old Lestallum across the street from the original Crow’s Nest, and you totally didn’t get the appeal of it. One day, I think we should tour around and try to eat something at every diner possible!_

The next few pages were full of photos I couldn’t even remember him taking. He must have somehow gained the ability to take photographs without my noticing, or maybe the amount of photos that he was taking had just blended into my sense of normality. They were from our trip to the Vesperpool. Some were of the scenery around the place. Others were taken at arm’s length as he gave the camera an unimpressed look, his hair completely soaked and flat. I looked oblivious as I clung to his arm, but I looked happy to be with him at the very least.

_This is when you dragged me out in the rain because you didn’t want to go home. This was also the day that I wanted to kiss you for the first time. I thought it would be super romantic, but just as I was getting the courage to do it, you made my hair messy and ran away._

Along with the message, he’d stuck a yellow coloured tape underneath, and written ‘Charm -1’ on it, earning a laugh from me. I wiped away the tears that were falling from my eyes and turned the page with a sniff.

Next were the photos from the night that I’d invited the four of them over to my apartment to eat hot pot. The next few pages were full of these photos that he’d taken. The first photo was the four of them on their way to my apartment, all brandishing their gifts towards the camera. I couldn’t help but laugh at Noct’s puzzled expression as he held the parcel of fish in both of his arms. The next was of just Prompto, holding the flowers in front of him, almost as if he was pretending to present them to the camera. It was an adorable photo as he adorned a light pink blush. I wanted a copy of it for every room in my apartment. Plus a few spares that I could show to my work mates so I could boast about how adorable my boyfriend was.

_I wanted to get you flowers, but I didn’t want you to think it was weird. Was it weird?_

The next two photos were of the different hot pots that I’d made that night.

_The hot pot was sooo good, but I still liked the first one more because you’d made it especially for the two of us._

God, my heart hurt. How was there a person that existed in Eos who was so perfect?

The next photos were from when we were drinking. One photo of Gladio in pain, my hand a blur as I tore the wax strip off of his leg, another photo of Ignis in his makeup, another few shots of the five of us sat around the coffee table, embarrassed looks on our faces from the game we were playing.

_Let’s just remember the fun parts of this night, okay?_

I knew that I was slowly coming to the end of the photos that we’d taken together, and the thought made me so sad. I wanted to fill the rest of the book with Prompto as we made more memories together, but it seemed like we’d have to hold off on our plans to take more trips until it was safe again. I just hoped that he’d come back so that one day we could fulfill our promises.

I turned the page to see a picture of the King’s Knight cartridge, immediately it pulled a loud laugh from me.

_Worst. Game. Ever._

The next photos were of the night they came to the bar. One photo was of me, mixing one of their drinks together, underneath, a small copy of their cocktails all grouped together. He’d written the names of the drinks underneath all of them, in brackets, the person who’d received the drink with arrows pointing to the different concoctions.

_The drink was delicious, though I have to wonder what you would have given us if you’d had drinks based off of the seven deadly sins. I think Noct would have gotten ‘Sloth’ for sure!_

Then, I turned the page with a sigh. The empty page with the date at the top, written in different coloured pens.

_This day was the day I finally got enough courage to ask you to be my girlfriend._

Looking through the book had been an emotional journey, and with a final whimper, I closed it and wiped my face as clean as I could manage. I’d somehow spent an entire hour looking over the book, making it so it was a reasonable time to start getting ready for work. I put the book to the side, and hauled myself out of the warmth of the eiderdown, feeling far more ready to deal with the day.

It was a few days later as I got myself ready for work, making sure my makeup was done as perfectly as I could manage. My hair was pulled into a messy bun, and I’d taken to using Prompto’s bandana as a headband. I felt like if I always found a way to wear it, he’d always be with me in some way. It was stupid, but it was something that gave me this weird hope for some reason.

I needed it especially at that moment as I was starting to lose hope that I’d ever see him again. It had been so long, and I knew nothing of my group of friends.

Amarantha was texting me, telling me that she’d be on her way to my apartment soon so we could eat together before dinner, and I smiled. I didn’t look half bad, even in my uniform for work. Deciding I was ready, I started to collect my things, only to be stopped by a knock at the door.

She was a lot earlier than I expected, but I didn’t mind too much as spending time with her was fun, and so much better than being on my own. I skipped over to the door, pulling it open with a smile on my face ready to greet her.

But she wasn’t on the other side of the door. Instead, a familiar, yet hollow figure stood there, scars littering his face, hints of bruises and friction burns discolouring his arms.

It was all too sudden that Prompto was stood in front of my apartment, hands shoved into his pockets as he gave me a wry smile.

“Sorry, did I keep you waiting?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little blehhh for me because I was trying to think of interesting things that could fill the gap between them leaving and coming back. Fingers crossed that you guys enjoyed it at least a little bit. Thank you so much for all of your comments and kudos! It means the world! <3


	20. Chapter 20

Prompto, after being gone for months, was suddenly stood in front of me and none of the situation felt real. There he was, standing in my doorway, hands shoved in his pocket, backpack slung around one of his shoulders as if this was the first place he’d come to.

“Sorry, did I keep you waiting?” he asked, his voice small and quiet.

It was if I was acting out of my own consciousness, as I didn’t even think. I grabbed a handful of his collar and yanked him through the door, slamming it shut behind him. I threw my arms around his neck and held on to him as tightly as I could, and with a small laugh that sounded almost empty, he dropped his bag on the floor and he began to do the same.

“You miss me that much?” he joked, though his tone was different to usual.

“Shut up. I’m mad at you,” I mumbled into his shoulder. “You didn’t text me.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“I was worried.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You got yourself hurt.”

“I’m sorry.”

With the last apology, we pulled away from each other just to stare each other down. It was almost like we were both sharing the same carnal hunger, and after a couple of seconds, he sent his lips crashing down onto mine, his hand on the back of my neck as if he didn’t want me to go anywhere. The mere force of it was enough to send me into the wall behind me, but he didn’t break the kiss even as he came to press his entire body up against mine. I could feel that he had this intense need within him, and it seemed so unlike what I’d imagined.

The only time he ever broke the kiss was so that he could dip down slightly, bringing his hands to the backs of my thighs as he hauled me up against the wall, leaving me no room to escape, and there was no part of me that minded at first. Just being close to him felt like some kind of lucid dream.

Before, his kisses had been so gentle as if he was afraid of hurting me, and now, his kisses told me that he absolutely wanted to break me.

“I told you I’d be back,” he breathed as he began to nip on the exposed skin of my neck. I bit my lip as I tried to suppress a moan that he was somehow managing to pull out of me, but something just felt… wrong.

I wasn’t sure if I was thankful or not when there was a knock at my door, forcing Prompto to freeze in place for a moment as his lips hovered on my jaw. I tapped him on the shoulder, signalling for him to let me down, and with a sigh, he let my feet touch the floor again.

I pulled the door open slightly to see a smiling Amarantha, who immediately looked confused as she saw me.

“This is a bad time, isn’t it?” she asked.

“What gave you that impression?” I said, clearing my throat and trying to adjust myself.

“Oh, nothing. Let’s just talk at work later, alright?” she smiled, and spun around. “Oh, and one more thing,” she said turning to glance over he shoulder as she gave me a sly look. “Don’t forget to do your lipstick again, Boss’ll be mad if you turn up to work like that,” she giggled before she walked back down the street.

I was immediately wiping at my swollen lower lip as I closed the door, turning to Prompto who had taken to leaning against the wall, running his hands over his face as if he wasn’t quite awake. There was absolutely something wrong with him, and the idea of finding out what it was terrified me.

“Prompto?” I asked cautiously, and he let out a sigh as he covered his eyes. “Are you okay?”

With a quiet whimper, he shook his head. As soon as he did so, he slid down the wall, bringing his knees up to his chest, trying to hide his face. I sat myself down next to him, scooting myself a little closer to him, wondering what in the world had happened. I didn’t push him to tell me. I just sat with him as he tried to collect his thoughts.

After a few minutes, he lifted his head up, and I caught a glance of him as a few tears that rolled down his cheeks. He was quick to wipe them away as he sniffed.

“Sorry, you must think I’m totally pathetic,” he croaked. I shook my head, taking the opportunity to pry one of his hands away from his leg that he was clutching and took it in my own, giving it a gentle squeeze. Sniffing again, he looked at me, his eyes red as if he hadn’t stopped crying for days.

“Is… is everyone else okay?” I found myself asking, which just seemed to break him all over again. His face crumpled as he broke into these loud, uncontrollable sobs, trying desperately to find my shoulder to bury his face into. Once he’d found it, it was all I could do to stroke the back of his neck in the most gentle gestures I could muster, all the while, thinking of the worst possible outcomes.

“H-he’s gone,” he finally choked out. “He’s gone and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”

“W-who?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“Noct. I don’t know where he went, and there’s nothing I can do,” he cried, clutching on to me.

“I-is he…?”

“Dead? I don’t know. I don’t think so. But there’s not a damn thing that I can do,” he continued, his cries becoming more and more distressed. “This whole thing was a disaster from start to finish.”

His actions earlier suddenly made a lot more sense to me.

He was just trying to feel anything other than this undying grief that he was carrying with him. That was why it felt so strange. I knew that feeling all too well.

All I could do was listen to him as he cried over his best friend. There was nothing I could say to make things better. All I could do was listen, and bite my lip as I tried to hold in tears of my own.

It took a long time for him to calm down, but eventually he backed away from me, his eyes puffy. He sniffed, looking at me as if he hoped I had an answer to a question that he hadn’t asked. All I could do was wipe the few remnants of tears away from his face.

“What happened to you?” I found myself asking as I gently traced a scar across his temple with my thumb. His lips formed a thin line as if it wasn’t anything that he wanted to remember.

“Does it really matter?” he said, his voice low.

“Well, a little bit,” I mumbled, my hand beginning to run over the marks on his arm. Whatever it had been, it looked as if it had been painful. He pulled a face at my words, as if he’d been tortured for weeks on end and the memory of it was just too much for him to think about.

“I-it all started to go wrong when we were on the train,” he stuttered, as if I should have understood, but I didn’t. “Noct just started chasing me, telling me that everything was all my fault. He was seriously trying to kill me,” he whimpered. “It was like he didn’t know it was me.”

His head fell again, and he pressed his palm to his forehead as if he was trying to rub away the memories from his mind.

“I’m still me, right?” he mumbled, so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him. What was I supposed to say to help him?

He was different, that much was for certain. But there was this glint of softness in his eyes that he always carried, even in the darkest moment of his life. He was undoubtedly himself. 

“You’re Prompto,” I told him with a nod. 

He could only nod, and bite his lip in response.

“Why don’t you stay with me for a while?” I offered, knowing that was all I could do. All I could offer him was a place where he could slowly recover, bit by bit.

“You still want me around?” He sounded almost surprised.

“Of course I do,” I murmured softly. “There isn’t a thing in the world that could change that.”

“Even though you’re mad at me?” he sniffed.

“You can make it up to me by staying here,” I told him.

He let out a long, sad sigh before he nodded.

“I’d like that.”

“Then, it’s settled,” I said, smiling at him ever so slightly. “You’re welcome to stay for as long as you want.” He managed to give me a smile, though it was somewhat half hearted. I looked up at the clock, and I’d managed to completely lose track of time and it was just late enough that I was absolutely going to be late for work. “Shit, I have to go,” I yelped, quickly pushing myself off the floor, and running to collect my bag and shove my feet into my shoes.

“Uhm, sweetheart?” he mumbled, and I turned to look at him as I rifled through my bag. His new name for me made me blush despite the situation.

“Yeah?”

“Lipstick.”

“Oh, right. I’d completely forgotten,” I said as I pounced into the bathroom. I emerged a minute later with my makeup fixed, and Prompto had managed to pull himself up off of the floor, but was still leaning against the wall in the same spot. With a smile, I handed him my keys for the apartment.

He took them from me cautiously, almost like he didn’t understand.

“Why don’t you come to the bar tonight? You can invite the others if you want. I’ll pay for dinner for you,” I said as gently as I could, though I was absolutely panicking about being late.

“That… sounds pretty nice to be honest. I’ve had my fair share of cup noodles for a lifetime in the last couple of weeks.”

“You’ve been living off of cup noodles?”

He nodded, grasping the keys in his hand.

“Then you absolutely have to come.”

“I’ll be there. Go on. Sorry if you’re late because of me.”

“Hm,” I considered for a moment as I readjusted my hair before heading towards the door. “I think it was worth it.” As soon as I was out of the front door, I was sprinting towards the bar, hoping that my boss wouldn’t be too mad at me.

Hours passed by, my shift rather uneventful, and I was almost certain that Prompto wasn’t going to show up. Just as I started to lose hope, the door opened and there he was. It was like he was making me relive that feeling of hopelessness, only to bring my heart this incredible joy when he did show up. I smiled at him, hands folded as I waited to greet him.

Then, it was like reality had hit me in the face. Noct really wasn’t with them, and Ignis’ face was different. He wore dark glasses, huge scars across his eyes as Gladio guided him through the door until he brought him to a stop just a few steps away from me, followed by a girl who was not at all old enough to be in a bar.

“Hey,” Prompto greeted me, a lopsided smile on his face. I could only stand with my mouth agape, eyes immediately watering as I looked at Ignis, who turned his head as if he was trying to get his bearings. It was only then that I took the time to notice the cane he held in his hand.

“W-what happened?” I stuttered, hoping my voice didn’t tell of how uneasy I felt.

“Ah, is that Rena?” Ignis suddenly said, sounding as refined as always.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “Are you okay, Ignis?”

“Oh, I assume you’re talking about my eyesight. I’m adjusting, thank you.”

He said it as if it was no big deal, hinting that it was nothing I should pity him about. He seemed as collected as he always did, and I wasn’t sure if I should have been impressed or heartbroken.

“Prompto told us you invited us for a free meal,” Gladio mumbled. “I brought my sister.”

“I see, trying to get the most out of me, are you?” I glared. “How old are you?”

“Fifteen,” she murmured in a soft voice, her eyes telling me that she was upset. I wondered if she knew Noct, and if she too was grieving for him like Prompto was.

“Hm, as long as she’s with you, she should be fine. But no alcohol,” I mumbled quietly to them, knowing full well that I would have been in a lot of trouble just for letting her inside. But it would have been cruel to send her away if she was in the middle of her own unending grief. Gladio nodded, pulling a strange face.

“You think I’d let my little sister drink?” he asked.

“I don’t know. You’re pretty irresponsible when it comes to getting other people drunk,” I pointed out, trying my best to turn on the charm I was supposed to present at all times. My voice still told of how uneasy I was.

“Need any help?” Amarantha said as she appeared from behind me.

“Oh, my tables are full at the minute,” I informed her. “Do you think you could take these guys? I’ll be paying for their meal, so we can settle that at the end if you don’t mind?”

“Ah, so you must be her friends,” she cooed as she leaned forward to get a better looked at them.

“This is Gladio and his sister…” I trailed off, trying to think of her name. I knew she’d been mentioned in passing quite a few times. “Iris, I believe?” She gave me a nod, and a small smile. “This is Ignis, and this is Prompto.”

“Oh! You’re her boyfriend, right? I thought you were back,” she giggled, recalling the image of me with my lipstick smeared around my mouth earlier. “She talks about you all the time.”

For the first time that day, Prompto managed a beaming smile as he chuckled slightly.

“Don’t emphasise it so much,” I said, nudging her. “This is my friend Amarantha. As I’m sure you can probably tell, we work together.”

“Nice to meet you all!” she chirped. “Why don’t you come with me? I have a table that’s perfect for you.”

With that, they began to move towards the front of the tables, Gladio hovering slightly behind Ignis. I held my hand up to Gladio, telling him that I’d help him. Silently he understood, and walked ahead with the rest of his friends. Placing my hand in between Ignis’ shoulders, I began to guide him forward.

“Well, this most certainly is a little too gentle to be Gladio,” he remarked, and I giggled slightly. “You needn’t concern yourself too much with me.”

“You can say that, but it’s my job to concern myself with you,” I said, laughing ever so slightly. “Besides, it’s really busy in here. I don’t want you to get yourself hurt.”

“I hate to point it out, but I’m already a little hurt,” he commented, chuckling slightly. “Given time, I’m sure I’ll be able to be quite independent again.”

“Well, you’re allowed to depend on people for the time being,” I told him before I let out a sigh. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. I did my duty, that’s all I could ask for.” He’d stated it as if it was the most normal and natural thing, but the lack of Noct’s presence was obvious. It seemed as if there really was absolutely nothing they could have done to help him, but the one who was taking it the hardest was Prompto.

It didn’t take us long to get us to the table, and I guided Ignis into his seat. With a deep breath, I turned on the persona I needed to in order to do my job well.

“Thank you for coming today,” I said, giving a small bow. Amarantha was quick to mimic my actions. “Amarantha is going to be looking after you today.”

She gave them a wide grin, and a slight wink. “I’ll go and get you some water while you think about what you’d like. Feel free to call me over if you need anything. I’ll leave this one here to explain to you what this place actually is,” she said, bumping my hip with her own and skipping off.

“I’m going to assume you remember from last time,” I said, and the three nodded, though Iris looked confused. I crouched down next to the table, reaching underneath it to a book that was tucked into a slot. “We’re full today for requests, unfortunately,” I told them as I plonked the book onto the table in front of Prompto.

When it came to my audition, I never told him a thing about it. Whenever he asked, I said I’d tell him when he got back what the outcome was. His eyes almost widened at the book, and he quickly flicked through the pages, his face growing a huge grin as he reached the last laminated page.

There I was, photographed in a way that made me look almost cute, a list of songs that people could request alongside it. It seemed almost strange to be showing them such a thing when really, it didn’t matter. It was just a small promotion. They almost certainly had bigger things to worry about.

“You got it?” Prompto asked, looking at me.

“Duh. Of course I did,” I giggled, and his face told me that he felt an immense pride towards me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a tight squeeze, as if he was telling me well done.

“Congratulations,” Ignis said from the other side of me, though he wasn’t looking at all in my direction. When was it that I started to care about them? It just made seeing them as they were now all the more heartbreaking.

Then, I remembered what Medea had told me, about how I couldn’t experience the good unless I let people in. I thought of all the good times I’d had with the four of the boys, and I understood what she meant. Though my heart felt heavy, there wasn’t anything that I would have traded my time for them for. Aside from a happy ending for all of them, of course.

“I have to get myself back to work,” I sighed, standing up and straightening out my legs. “Amarantha’s pretty good though. She’ll look after you all.”

“Wait, are you singing tonight?” Prompto asked, grabbing my hand to stop me from leaving.

“Hm, who knows?” I smiled, before I flipped my hair and turned to the tables I was supposed to be tending to.

It was just over an hour later that nervously I began to ascend the steps to the stage, switching with one of my more popular coworkers who’d had an incredible amount of requests that day.

There was a polite smattering of applause as I stood before the microphone, bowing my head slightly. I smiled, composing myself and trying to rid myself of my nerves.

The one thing that the eternal nighttime had brought me was at least one guaranteed request every time I worked. One of the songs in my small collection was requested every single time by a group of women who worked at the power station. Every night they would buy beer, drink enough to forget that the world around them was falling apart, and request the one song that had become their anthem of unity.

As soon as the song began to play, Prompto’s gaze tore up from the food that he was eating and his eyes landed on me. Of course it did. It was the same song that I’d serenaded him with on our car ride to the Vesperpool all those months ago. I gave him a small nod, approaching the microphone in front of me.

I knew that with him watching me so carefully, I had to give it my all. I had to make him proud. I wanted to make him proudly proclaim that he was my boyfriend. That was enough to spur me on. Closing my eyes, I began to sing.

_When the night has come,_   
_And the land is dark,_   
_And the moon, is the only light we’ll see,_   
_No, I won’t be afraid,_   
_Oh, I won’t be afraid,_   
_Just as long, as you stand, stand by me._

As the chorus started, I managed to pry my eyes open to look at Prompto, who was looking at me as if he’d just fallen in love for the first time. His mouth was slightly agape as he leaned in just that little bit closer, his cheeks pink.

_If the sky that we look upon, should tumble and fall,_   
_Or the mountain should crumble to the sea,_   
_I won’t cry, I won’t cry,_   
_No I won’t shed a tear,_   
_Just as long as you stand, stand by me._

It was strange that even as I was singing about how I wouldn’t cry, I felt overwhelmed with the knowledge of what had happened to them, and completely stupefied about Prompto suddenly being there, watching me sing as I’d always thought of. My eyes were glassy, and almost certainly it was showing in the light of the stage.

As I came to the final chorus of the song, I had to close my eyes, just to try and block out every other thought I had. All I needed to do was finish this one song. I just needed to compose myself enough to belt out the last words, and then I could cry if I needed to.

_And darling, darling, stand by me_   
_Oh, stand by me,_   
_Oh, stand now,_   
_Stand by me,_   
_Whenever you’re in trouble,_   
_Won’t you stand by me?_   
_Oh, stand by me,_   
_Oh, stand now,_   
_Stand by me._

It didn’t work. I couldn’t keep in the few tears that were threatening to spill down my cheeks as I finished, managing to hit the notes I needed. Something about my strange emotions as I finished the songs managed to move the crowd in a way I’d never managed to do before. As I finished, they were cheering, some even standing to applaud me.

I bowed again in thanks, taking a moment to wipe my tears away before I looked up. My eyes immediately fell on Prompto, who was wiping a few tears of his own off of his pink cheeks. I wondered if he was thinking of his absent friend.

With a sniff, and another nod towards the audience, I shakily wandered down the stairs and felt almost relieved to be out of the spotlight. Almost immediately I could feel my boss watching me, squinting slightly as he rested on the bar. I looked to him, and he beckoned me over.

“I’d like to say nice touch, but I somehow don’t think you meant to cry, did you?” he questioned, and I shook my head. I wiped away at the remnants of makeup that I could feel clinging to the skin under my eyes. “Amarantha told me that your boyfriend’s back,” he told me with a smug look on his face.

“Yeah, took him long enough, right?” I said, clearing my throat to compose myself.

“Why don’t you take a couple of days off? You’ve been working yourself stupid while he’s been away, so just take some time off. Go on a date or two, it’ll do you some good.”

“Is that really okay? It seems a bit last minute,” I mumbled. “Considering how busy it’s been lately, I’d feel a little bad.”

“Hm, I suppose you’re right, but it’s kind of my first priority to make sure you don’t get sick again,” he grinned. “Especially when you can work a crowd like that, with just a few tears,” he teased. I pouted at him, letting out a hefty sigh.

“I’d actually really appreciate a couple of days off. I had some not so great news just before work,” I breathed.

“Yeah, there was one more of them last time, wasn’t there?” he said, looking over to my friends. I could feel a lump form in my throat, and could only manage a nod as I glanced over at them, Prompto still watching me carefully. “Take some time off,” he insisted again. “How about you come back at the weekend? We could do with the extra hands then.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate that a lot,” I said, giving him a wide smile.

Twirling around, I got back to my duties, excited about the prospect of me and Prompto maybe having the opportunity to go out on our first official date.

As I exited the bar, shift complete, meals paid for, I was greeted by the group of four as they waited outside for me.

“Hey,” Prompto beamed at me, immediately scooping my hand up into his. He seemed almost excited. “You were amazing!”

I couldn’t help but blush at his words.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“I have to agree,” Ignis piped up. “And you should listen to me. I have quite the appreciation for sound nowadays,” he joked, and I managed a small giggle.

I looked to Gladio, who looked as if he wasn’t exactly sure what he should say to me, so instead, I gave him a smile, which he returned with a breathy chuckle.

“Thanks for the meal. I love cup noodles as much as anyone, but it was nice to have a change, I guess,” he managed to mumble.

“Well, just make sure to visit on occasion and request me. It makes me a fair amount of money,” I winked. “But I am going to shower, and sleep, because I am exhausted.”

“Fair enough. Prompto?” Gladio asked, and in response he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

“I’m going to stay with her for a while,” he chuckled. Gladio gave a long whistle.

“You sure are moving fast,” he said, sounding almost impressed.

With a laugh, I began to walk away from them, desperate to get home and spend some time with Prompto, not having to worry about how long we spent talking or whatever else it was that we wanted to do. That, and I wanted to invite him on a date. Our first date.

“I’ll see you guys soon, I hope,” I managed to say to them as I pulled Prompto down the street, almost eager to ask him.

By the time we were back, my feet were killing me and my legs were tired. Unlocking the door, I stepped inside to see that Prompto had left the scrapbook on the bed while I was at work. Frowning, I immediately walked over to it to pick it up and check that everything was still intact.

It was the same, for the most part at least.

He watched me carefully as I flicked to the last page he’d filled in.

_This day was the day I finally got enough courage to ask you to be my girlfriend._

Just above those words was a photo that wasn’t there before. The photo he’d taken as we looked out over the disc as the sun rose, his lips capturing my own as we bathed in the orange glow of the light. Just looking at it, I could almost feel the warmth on my skin, and I thought of how much I missed the peace that the day seemed to bring.

“Hey, how long did you plan to make this for me?” I asked, looking at him with a smile.

“A while,” he mumbled, almost as if he was shy. “I always thought that if I ever got the guts to tell you how I felt, I’d want to make it for you. Noct was the one who convinced me that you’d like it.”

“Well, he wasn’t wrong,” I giggled, closing the book and holding it close to my chest. “Though it made me cry when you weren’t here.”

His hands came to wrap around my stomach as he hugged me from behind, as he gave me a gentle kiss as the side of my neck.

“Do I have to apologise again?” he murmured. Smiling, I shook my head, leaning back into him.

“No. You’re here now, so I’m fine,” I told him, and he gave me a tight squeeze. I really wanted to shower, but at the same time, I felt so content to be in his arms. “You can take advantage of the games console, while I have a shower,” I smiled as he gave me another kiss on my neck, this time a little longer, and firmer.

“I’d rather take advantage of something else,” he muttered, and it felt like my brain had short circuited for a moment. His words weren’t exactly unappealing to me, but I worried that he was still trying to find anyway he could to help relieve his grief. In a way, I was scared that he might have transformed into my old self that could only feel a certain way when they were in someone else’s arms.

“I have to shower,” I insisted, spinning myself around in his arms to face him. He looked disappointed, and almost rejected. I gave him a smile before I pressed a kiss on his lips. “Let’s talk for a bit when I’m done, okay?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Then, I’ll take advantage of the games console,” he chuckled.

With that, I turned and ducked into the bathroom quickly, trying to rid myself of all of the inappropriate thoughts that had come to mind.

I felt much, much better after I’d showered, and was wrapped in a warm fluffy towel. Much more human, at the very least after I’d rid myself of that famous bar stench. Though, of course, in my haste to get into the bathroom and away from the situation with Prompto, I’d forgotten to bring any clean pyjamas with me. All I had was my crumpled uniform that was uninviting to say the least.

With a strained sigh, I opened the door to the bathroom just wide enough for me to peek my head out of. Prompto was sat cross legged on the bed, controller in hand, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he was concentrating on a particularly challenging part of what I could only guess was the original King’s Knight from the music that I could just about hear.

He didn’t seem to be paying much attention to me, so quietly I tiptoed out of the bathroom with the towel tightly wrapped around me and slowly made my way to the dresser that was next to the bed, hoping that it would keep his attention for just a few more seconds. Just as I’d made it there and began pulling on the drawer handles, I heard the strangely upbeat death jingle and he let out long sigh. We turned slowly to look at each other, and managed to maintain eye contact for a total of three seconds before he turned bright red and turned his gaze away from me.

“O-oh, I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to.”

What a strange turn around he’d had in the twenty minutes it had taken me to take a shower. He went from seductive to shy and almost scared to look at me. I had to wonder if it was an act, or if just having the chance to relax had taken his mind off of things for a while. I couldn’t tell.

“It’s okay,” I said, laughing nervously. I had to wonder what it was about him that made me feel more nervous than I ever had in my entire life.

“D-do you mind if I take a shower?” he asked as if he felt the same nervousness that I did. In a way, I felt rather proud of myself for managing to get that kind of reaction out of him.

“Sure,” I smiled, pulling the drawer open to retrieve a paper bag. “I actually got a few things for you, because I was kinda hoping you’d come and stay with me when you got back,” I admitted, holding the bag out towards him. He looked at me in surprise for a minute before moving to reach for the bag. “It’s nothing special, so sorry,” I mumbled.

It really wasn’t anything special. But whenever I saw something that Prompto might have liked that he could use when he was at my apartment, it was like I couldn’t help myself. It was just shampoo that claimed to have a sweet scent, or vanilla scented soap. Those kinds of things, along with a set of new pyjamas that were just too soft to not get for him.

He peeked his head inside the bag, and his face almost lit up at the array of small things that I’d bought for him over the months he’d been gone.

“You’re so sweet,” he beamed at me as he began to search through the things that were in there. “You really were thinking about me, huh?”

“Obviously,” I muttered, trying to find a clean set of pyjamas, but it seemed almost fruitless as it had been far too long since I’d gotten around to doing laundry. It seemed that I’d have to make an effort to get some chores done, and just the thought alone almost bored me to tears.

He clambered off of the bed, the bag still in his arms and approached me as if he didn’t have a care in the world for those few minutes. He lowered his head slightly to place a chaste kiss on my lips, looking at me as if he’d never been given something so nice.

“Thank you,” he told me with a smile as he pulled away.

“It’s not much,” I said, and he shook his head.

“It’s not just that. Thanks for thinking about me. It’s nice that I had someone to come back to,” he smiled.

“You know you would have had someone to come back to even if I wasn’t your girlfriend,” I giggled.

“Yeah, but this is way better, don’t you think?” he beamed as he gave me another small kiss before straightening up and carrying his new bag of belongings into the bathroom. Once the door was closed and I heard the shower begin to run, I found out a clean t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts as it was about all I had left to wear. Once I was dressed, I took Prompto’s place on the bed, sitting cross legged as he did and picked up the controller.

I couldn’t even bring myself to change the cartridge as I felt so tired after work, and instead tried my first playthrough of King’s Knight. Prompto was right. It was a terrible game.

When he emerged later, after I’d successfully managed to kill off all four characters, and I was just about ready to throw the game in the bin because it had managed to frustrate me so much. He came out of the bathroom with his hair damp and flat, but he looked kind of refreshed at the very least. He gave me a small smile, and tugged on the long sleeves of his new shirt.

I scooted over on the bed slightly, discarding the controller and patting on the empty space beside me as an invitation. After biting his lip, he gave me a nod and clambered onto the bed next to me, seemingly not all too sure about what it was that he was supposed to do once he was there.

“My boss gave me some time off work so that we could spend it together,” I told him with a smile.

“Really?!” he yelped as if it was the best surprise he’d had in ages.

“Yup. So maybe we should go on our first date tomorrow,” I suggested, grinning at him.

“O-oh, right. I guess we haven’t done that yet, huh?” he asked, shoulders deflating.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, tilting my head at him. “I thought you’d be excited.”

“I-I am. I just need to tell you about something,” he mumbled, almost like it was something he didn’t exactly want to talk about.

“You don’t have to push yourself, y’know? If you aren’t ready, I’ll be here later,” I said, smiling at him to try and reassure him. He shook his head in response before letting out a sigh.

“It’s better that I tell you now. I honestly should have to told you before I asked you to be my girlfriend,” he said, biting the inside of his mouth nervously.

With another long breath, he slowly hitched up the sleeve of his shirt and presented his bare wrist to me. The wrist I’d never seen without something covering it before. There was what I could only describe as an odd choice of tattoo. I looked at it, trying to work out what he was trying to tell me without words, but I didn’t understand.

“I’m not from Lucis,” he mumbled, his voice wavering ever so slightly. He took in another few deep breaths, and I didn’t urge him on. I just let him gather whatever courage it was he needed to explain. “I’m from Niflheim.”

“Okay?” I asked cautiously, wondering why it mattered.

“You know the MT’s, right? Those soldiers from the Empire that wear armor?” he asked, and I nodded. I hadn’t seen them in person before, but I’d heard about them. “They’re daemons. I was supposed to become one of them. I, uhm, escaped from there when I was younger, I guess. And I took refuge in Insomnia, and just tried to live a normal life, I suppose.”

His hands were shaking as he presented his wrist to me. All I could do was smile, closing my hands over the barcode that was on the back of his wrist. He looked surprised for a moment before he looked to me.

“Okay.”

“Okay? Just like that?” he questioned.

“Of course. Like you said, we’re entitled to have our pasts, right?” I said, and again his shoulders deflated, though this time it was out of relief. “Thank you for telling me, but it doesn’t change anything for me. I still want you to be my boyfriend,” I smiled.

“Really?”

“Stop asking dumb questions,” I frowned, and he managed to giggle slightly. “You’re still Prompto, that’s all I care about.”

“You really are the best, you know that?” he smiled as he rested his head on my shoulder.

“So, do we get to go on that date now?” I asked him, and with a small laugh, he nodded.

“Can we at least sleep first?” he asked with a yawn.

“Sure, I suppose that’s fine,” I joked.

We began busying ourselves as we got ready to sleep. I was in bed first as I waited for Prompto to take his contacts out, and I was almost impatient for him to join me because I just wanted to cuddle up to him and hope that his presence was enough to stave the nightmares off for just one night.

As he blindly stumbled around the room with his contacts removed, he went straight for the light switch, and I jolted up out of my relaxed position.

“Wait!” I blurted out. He turned to squint at me quizzically. “C-could we keep the light on?” I mumbled, feeling embarrassed at the strange request.

“Are you scared of the dark or something?” he asked, seeming almost amused.

“Shut up,” I pouted, though I was sure he couldn’t see me.

“Because of the daemons, right?”

“Get out of my mind,” I said, pulling the duvet up over my face. It wasn’t fair that he knew what was the matter with me with such ease. That, and I felt embarrassed by my childish fear.

“It’s alright,” he said in a reassuring tone. I peeked over the covers to look at him, and he’d puffed his chest up, almost pridefully. “I’m here to protect you.”

“You can’t even see properly,” I mumbled. He didn’t let that deter him at all. He stood next to the light switch as if he was ready to turn it off at any moment, and with a sigh, I was defeated. I quickly reached over to the switch for the fairy lights that were wrapped around my headboard and turned them on. “Is this okay at least? We can meet halfway.”

He smiled and quickly flipped the switch, turning the lights off in the room, but the lights around my bed gave off enough of a warm glow to make me feel at ease. He stumbled over to the bed, managing to find his way under the covers and shifting until he was on his side, trying to look at me through his hazy vision.

I could tell just from looking at him that he was exhausted. I wondered how long it must have been since he’d slept in a bed, surrounded with soft and warm covers. Smiling slightly, I began to trace the light scars that were on his face, wondering what exactly had happened to him.

“You got yourself hurt,” I mumbled as he closed his eyes, almost as if he were enjoying the feeling.

“Mm, I’m sorry,” he hummed. “I came back though.”

“Yeah. Thanks for keeping your promise. I’m so glad that you came back,” I murmured as I buried myself in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me to keep me as close as possible. He let out a breathy laugh before he began to trace patterns on my back.  
  
“Thanks for giving me a reason to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another chapter that I feel really bleeeh about, but I don't know how I can make it much better to be honest, heh. 
> 
> Anyway, I've been doing daily updates for a while, and I'm pretty sure that this is going to be the last chapter I can do it with for a little bit. I have a project that I'm working on, and it needs my attention for a little bit, but I'll post as often as I'm able to from here on out! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, and thank you for all your lovely comments. They really do make me feel a lot better about my writing <3


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning was the first morning in a long time where I woke up naturally instead of being jerked awake by one of the many vivid nightmares that had plagued me. With a grumble, I started wiping at my eyes, trying to rid myself of the residue from my peaceful slumber. As everything came into focus, I could see a pair of brilliant blue eyes looking at me, though they still looked exhausted. 

“Morning,” I yawned, wriggling slightly to get myself comfortable.

“Good morning,” the reply came, with a large grin. In a way, it didn’t feel real to have Prompto looking at me. He’d been gone for so long that I was just about to lose all hope, and then suddenly, there he was.

“What time is it?” I asked, clearing my throat.

“No idea. It’s hard to tell when you can’t really see,” he chuckled, reminding me that his vision was poor at best. I gave him a smile, realising that I really didn’t have anywhere else I needed to be, and I was perfectly content with where I was. I settled back down into his chest and he let out a small laugh. “I thought you wanted to go on that date today.”

“Mmm, maybe later,” I hummed. “Don’t wanna move right now.”

“You know, we don’t have to do anything special or anything,” he mumbled. “As long as I get to spend time with you, I really don’t care what it is we do.”

“Yeah, we have a lot of making up to do considering you’ve been gone for so long,” I said as I nuzzled my face against him, just trying to appreciate how close we were for a little bit longer. We lay there, surrounded in warm blankets and silence for a while as I tried to stop myself from falling back to sleep. It seemed that the silence was enough to give him a few moments too long to think.

“I’m still me, right?” he asked again in that low voice that sent a jolt of pain through my chest. Pulling back from him, I looked him in the eyes, and behind the hurt was that softness I was looking for.

“You’re still you,” I told him, nodding firmly. He seemed to relax a little at my words as if he really needed me to reassure him.

“I know you don’t understand, but thank you,” he said, sighing out of relief. “Anyway, what do you want to do for our first date?”

“Hmm,” I said, considering my options. “We could either have the normal kind of date, and get dinner, and have a few drinks, or we could have a date here. I could make dinner, we could watch one of those movies you bought when I was sick and we’d barely have to go anywhere,” I smiled. I knew which one I prefered. 

“Hot pot...” he mumbled before he shook his head. I couldn’t help but smirk at him. “Wait, the second idea doesn’t sound like much of a date.”

“I’ll light some candles and dress up a little,” I suggested, and he snorted a little as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

“That sounds pretty perfect,” he giggled. “If you’re okay with that being our first date of course.”

“As long as you take some photos for my book,” I told him, pointing to where it rested on the bedside table.

“Deal.”

I couldn’t delay it anymore. I had errands and chores to take care of, and if I spent all day in bed, I knew I’d regret it later. I rolled myself away from him and gave my muscles a stretch before sitting up.

“You have places to be?” he asked, and I wobbled my head as if the answer was in between. 

“Kind of. I just have some stuff I need to take care of today. Boring house stuff, like laundry,” I said, making it sound like the most mysterious and exciting thing that possibly existed. “If you have anything you want washing, let me know.”

With that, I crawled over him to climb off of the bed and yawn. 

“I suppose it’s about time that my Crownsguard stuff gets cleaned,” he sighed.

“You suppose? When was the last time that thing was properly washed?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t wanna say,” he mumbled, hiding himself under the covers again. 

With a giggle, I scooped his clothes off of the floor and flung them into the washing machine along with a few of my own things. The first take of the day hardly took any time to start, and I already felt like my day was productive. Anything I could do to keep my mind off the crushing feeling that reality brought was welcomed. 

Prompto didn’t seem like he was quite ready to move, so I shuffled to the kitchen and put the kettle on, making him a cup of tea - with far too many sugars to be healthy - in the mug I’d bought at the chocobo outpost. 

I may not have been able to do much for him when it came to grand gestures, but I was hoping that he’d appreciate the little things. Needless to say, when I finally placed down the mug on the bedside table beside him, his face lit up when he saw it. 

“You remembered,” he pointed out, smiling.

“Of course I did,” I grinned. 

Once he was happily sipping at his tea, humming to himself, I felt accomplished, but there was still a lot more cleaning to be done. And then I’d have to go and buy ingredients for dinner. By the sounds of things, I didn’t have too much of a choice. Hot pot it was. 

There was one other thing I needed to do, so I got myself dressed and presentable as I could be bothered with before I started collecting my things. 

“Hey, Prompto,” I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. While I’d been cleaning up, he’d taken to having another go at King’s Knight in between sipping on his tea. He paused the game to look at me, and I couldn’t imagine that the game was helping him feel any better.

“Yeah?”

“You know, you said in the book that you were going to carry the keychain I bought you around with you?” I half asked, and he nodded.

“It’s in the front pocket of my bag,” he smiled.

“You mind if I borrow it for a little bit?”

“Uhm, why?”

“It’s a secret.”

“I guess that’s okay,” he said cautiously, giving me a strange look.

“Thanks. I’m popping out for a bit. I won’t be too long. I just need to go and get a few things for dinner,” I informed him, and he nodded. 

“You want me to come with you?” he asked and I shook my head. I focused on pulling the keychain out of the pocket in his bag and tucking it away in my pocket as I responded. 

“Just relax for a little bit. And play something else. We both know this game is awful,” I told him, to which he chuckled.

“But it just feels like I have to beat it,” he laughed. 

“Alright, I won’t be too long,” I told him with a smile, giving him a small kiss on the cheek that wouldn’t distract him too much from his adventure, and with that I was out of the door. 

I’d anticipated a quick trip to the market to get the things I needed to make dinner for the two of us. As it turned out, the market was packed and just getting the things I needed was becoming more and more difficult. That, and once I had found them, it was much more expensive than it used to be.

Once I was out of the market, I let out a sigh, trying to convince myself that spending all that gil was worth it if it would cheer Prompto up. It wasn’t like the endless nighttime hadn’t brought about it’s positives. As it turns out, there were three jobs that were very lucrative; being an employee of the power plant, being a hunter, and being in the business of letting people drink their woes away. 

Because of that, I could afford to buy the things I needed, but the extortionate price still made me scowl as I wandered off to my next destination. 

It had taken me well over an hour to do the few things I needed, which was enough time for the laundry to finish. Yet by the time I got in, Prompto still hadn’t really moved too much from his previous spot, and he was still as focused as he ever was on King’s Knight. He hardly even noticed as I walked through the door. 

I cleared my throat as I closed the door which almost made him jump as he quickly paused the game. 

“Oh, I thought you’d take a bit longer,” he told me, furrowing his eyebrows.

“I’ve been gone for over an hour, Prompto.”

He paused for a moment before chuckling to himself.

“I think I might have lost track of time.”

“You beat it yet?” I asked as I perched myself on the edge of the mattress and looked at the screen.

“No. But I got really close!”

I giggled at how enthused he seemed about an unfair video game that no one thought was fun. 

“Nevermind that anyway, I got you something.” With a cocked eyebrow, he turned to look at me. I could tell that he was curious what it was, and it was nice to see that at that moment in time, he didn’t have that look of anguish in his eyes. “Close your eyes,” I grinned at him. He obliged without argument. Once I was sure he couldn’t see anything, I pried one of his hands away from the controller and pressed the keychain from the chocobo outpost into his palm.

“Can I open them yet?”

I hummed slightly, as if I was considering it before placing a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth and backing away. 

“Alright, I suppose so.” He looked down in his hand to see the familiar keychain, though now it had a freshly cut key to my apartment attached to it. “I thought if you were staying here a while, you might need this.”

His face lit up, and he gave me a glance of that stupidly wide grin as he picked it up and examined it closely. It almost seemed like he couldn’t really believe that I’d given it to him. 

“So you really do want me around, huh?” he asked, grin never faltering.

“Of course. You can ask it as many times as you want, the answer’s still going to be the same.”

With a sigh of relief, he looked at me and let his bare hand caress my cheek for a few moments. The way that he looked at me seemed as if he was brimming with affection towards me, and it was enough to send butterflies swirling around my stomach in such a way that it was almost uncomfortable. 

“So, I suppose I should get out of here so you can get things ready for our date, right?” he asked, grinning so much that his nose was slightly scrunched up. I wondered if he was as excited about it as I was. 

“You’re just excited about the hot pot, aren’t you?” I giggled, leaning my head into his hand slightly.

“Who can say?” he asked as he finally pulled the covers back and got himself out of his lounging position. “I’m gonna go and check on Ignis anyway. Y’know, make sure Gladio isn’t cooking him cup noodles because it must be driving him crazy.”

“You know, I’d love to help out with Ignis as much as I can. If he wants to get away from Gladio just making him cup noodles, I’ll cook for him,” I informed him. “Maybe he could even help me, you know? It might help him in the long run.”

Prompto gave me a wide smile before he pressed his lips to my own, giggling slightly as he did so.

“You’re so adorable,” he mumbled. “I’ll be sure to let him know. Though, not tonight.”

“Tonight's just for us, right?” I asked, giving him a small smirk, and he nodded in return.

He was quick to make himself scarce and give me enough room and time to get myself ready. I figured the first thing to do would be prepare the vegetables for the hot pot that he seemed so excited to eat. Though as I was in my apartment on my own, humming along to the song on the radio, I couldn’t help but feel this twinge of sadness in my chest.

The last time I’d made it, Ignis was alongside me, helping me to prepare it and taking notes on what I used for the broth. I was unaware of what had happened between Gladio and myself in Insomnia. And Noct was alongside everyone, laughing and gently pulling the strings behind the scenes between Prompto and I. 

I tried to shake the thought off; there was nothing that I could change when it came to what had happened to them. No amount of sadness and moping would bring back Ignis’ sight, and no amount of crying and complaining about how unfair life was would make it so that Noct could be with them. 

The one thing that I could make sure of was that I fulfilled Noct’s request. Before he’d left, he’d asked me to take care of Prompto, and that much I could do. Even if it only meant making sure he had a place to rest, or even if it meant just making him his favourite food. Even if it meant leaving him alone while he tried to conquer King’s Knight. Whatever it took to make sure he smiled, that was what I was determined to do. 

If I needed to find the time to cry and be upset myself, it wasn’t important. It wasn’t at all important when I thought of the empty, desolate look that had been smeared across Prompto’s face the previous evening. 

I gave myself a nod once all the vegetables were finished, deciding to then get myself ready. I wasn’t sure if I should have been getting too dressed up just to sit at home and eat hot pot, but I’d gone to at least some effort for the disastrous date with Gladio. Besides, I couldn’t stop thinking about this “absolute territory” thing that he’d mumbled before. With a nod, I found out the same dress from the date with Gladio -- the only dress I owned, as a matter of fact -- and decided that it was my best option. 

Once I was done, and I’d had a few minutes to reassure myself that I looked okay, I looked to my phone where I had a text message waiting from Prompto.

‘Text me when you’re ready and I’ll be over :)’

The message made me smile, and I quickly typed a response to him, telling him he was welcome to come back whenever he liked before I quickly set to work on lighting as many candles as I could without it becoming too much of a fire hazard and setting the table as well as I could. Then all I could do was sit and wait, and for some reason the few minutes I had to myself made me feel nervous.

It was just Prompto. We’d hung out before, and he was already my boyfriend, so there wasn’t anything I needed to be nervous about. But just the idea of a date made me nervous, especially when I thought of how terribly the last date I’d been on turned out.

I wasn’t given too long to dwell on my thoughts until there was a knock on my door. I frowned as I hoisted myself up and off the bed. I pulled the door open, and Prompto was stood on the other side, dressed in clothes I’d never seen before, his hands behind his back. 

I tilted my head at him, almost asking why he hadn’t let himself in, but as his cheeks turned pink at the mere sight of me, it was immediately forgotten. He looked me up and down for a few seconds as if he was trying to take in my outfit before he gave me a smile.

“Here,” he said, presenting me with a small bunch of flowers, much like he had when he’d brought the others to my apartment for dinner. I smiled as I plucked them out of his hands, and couldn’t help but take in a lungful of the lingering scent from them.

“You didn’t have to. These were probably super expensive,” I told him as I opened the door further so that he could come inside. He didn’t hesitate in coming inside, planting a small kiss on my cheek as he passed me.

“It’s nothing,” he told me, waving it off. “I have to make a good impression on our first date, right?” 

He beamed at me as he turned to look at me as I closed the door, taking in another sniff of the flowers. He really was acting like such a gentleman, almost acting like we hadn’t quite gotten to the stage of being in a relationship. I couldn’t help but giggle at him as I took the flowers into the kitchen, humming happily as I went. 

“You want any help?” he asked as he followed me closely.

“Hm, I don’t really need any help, but you can stay with me while I cook if you’d like,” I told him. Most of the preparation was already done, but I wasn’t opposed to spending more time with it while I cooked things through. 

“I can do that,” he grinned as he took to leaning on the wall beside him, his eyes following me closely as I began to reach up on my tip toes to the top cupboard to get the jug that held the last flowers he’d bought for me. Once I’d retrieved it, and safely placed it on the counter, I turned to look at him. His face was still pink as he chewed on his lower lip.

“You know, you’re supposed to compliment your date,” I drawled, and his eyes snapped back to mine. His face reddened even further as if I’d caught him doing something he wasn’t supposed to do.

“O-oh, right,” he said, giggling nervously. “You look really good.”

Slowly I approached him, giving him a raised eyebrow. In return, he looked confused. I couldn’t help but lean towards him, close enough to I could whisper in his ear. 

“Zettai ryouiki, right?” I teased quietly, before I backed away from him. He looked at me in complete and utter terror, as if I’d stumbled across the darkest secret he had. I watched him as he slowly swallowed the lump in his throat, and he had no idea what he was supposed to say. 

“Uh, did you look it up?” he managed eventually, though it seemed like his voice was dry.

“Yup. I was just too curious,” I grinned at him, backing away from him to give him some space. “Besides, you totally aren’t allowed to be mad at me for checking to see what it meant.” I began to fuss with the flowers, cutting off the ends of the stems and arranging them in the jug as I saw fit.

“I mean, I’m not mad,” he mumbled. I glanced back at him, and he was looking at me from under his eyelashes, almost like he was embarrassed. It was absolutely adorable.

“What’s your favourite thing to eat from the hot pot?” he asked me as it was just about finished. He’d taken to wrapping his arms around my stomach and leaning his chin on my shoulder, every so often placing small kisses on my bare shoulder. It was making cooking a little bit more difficult, but it wasn’t anything I was going to complain about when I felt so warm and protected.

“Hmm, I like the tofu the most. It just absorbs the broth so well,” I told him, smiling slightly. “What about you?”

“I like the meat the most,” he grinned, not even hesitating for a second. “It’s just too tasty since it’s cooked so perfectly.”

With those words, I turned the heat off. Dinner was ready, and I was starving. I didn’t give myself any time to eat throughout the day, so I was perhaps more eager than Prompto to dig in. 

“Well, you can have all the meat you want. I’m perfectly happy with the tofu and vegetables,” I smiled, spinning around to look at him properly. He still held onto me even as I looked at him. “Ready to eat?” I asked, and he nodded vigorously. “You have to let me go before I can take it in,” I giggled. 

He pouted slightly before he gave me a small kiss and let me free. With that, I lifted up the pot and carried it into the living room, placing it down on the coffee table and letting out a sigh of relief. It looked decent, so I could relax a little and just enjoy my time with Prompto.

After I’d served up food for each of us, we fell into meaningless small talk. He talked a little about Altissia, and how beautiful it was, but he never spoke of anything past it, like he was trying to forget. We didn’t speak of our plans to take trips across Lucis, nor did we mention Galdin Quay like he always seemed to. 

We just talked about Altissia and how my audition went. 

Even though it was almost a mundane discussion, I felt okay about it. It was just nice to talk to him about whatever it was that we could think of, almost like things were normal. 

As we finished off the food -- and with no hopes of leftovers -- Prompto leant back and let out a content sigh, placing his hand on his full stomach. He looked satisfied, almost as if he was ready to sleep and I couldn’t help but giggle at him. 

“You’re not going to make me clean up again, are you?” he whined.

“Hm, I might let you off,” I teased. “You can at least help me take stuff into the kitchen though, right?”

“Hmm,” he hummed. “I suppose so. Then what did you want to do?”

“I mean, we could watch a movie I guess,” I considered. I really didn’t have anything I wanted to do aside from spend time with him. 

“Sounds good to me,” he chirped. He seemed as if he was genuinely feeling okay, and I couldn’t help but feel relief. “I’m sure there has to be something fun to watch in all those movies I bought you when you were sick.”

“I hope so. I haven’t really watched any of them since you left,” I told him. “I’ve just been too busy with working.”

“Really? I thought you were making friends with that girl. What’s her name? It’s something complicated.”

“Amarantha?”

“Yeah, that’s the one!”

“Yeah, she’s been amazing while you’ve been gone. We should get lunch together sometime. She’s been dying to meet you properly,” I smiled. 

“I’m glad that you had someone else there for you,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips that made him seem like he was thinking about something. I tilted my head as I looked back to him, knowing there was something he wasn’t saying. 

I’d barely looked at him for a few seconds before his attention was drawn away from me and towards the window. It was a rare occurrence in Lestallum, but droplets of rain had begun to patter on the glass. 

“Seems like I bring the bad weather with me,” he joked as he rushed to peek out of the blinds in my kitchen. I joined him, watching as the rain became just that little bit heavier, enough to chase everyone wondering on the streets below back inside.

As we watched them scatter in the damp darkness of the streets, Prompto wrapped an arm around my waist and gave me a raised eyebrow mischievously as if he’d thought of something. 

“Come on,” he told me as he tugged me out of the kitchen and towards the front door. 

“Wait, where are we going?”

“Just trust me,” he beamed. He didn’t even give me the chance to put my shoes on as he quickly pulled me outside, pulling out his key to lock the door behind him. For a moment, I worried about leaving so many candles unattended, but it felt like I had most pressing matters at hand as he quickly pulled me out into the pouring rain. 

He continued to pull me down the street until we were in the main area of Lestallum, the rain pouring the strange completely vacant. It was almost eerie. I wasn’t given too much time to think about how cold I was, or about how soaked my clothes were. As we reached where he thought was the perfect spot, he spun around and quickly captured me in his arms, pulling me close to him.

“You remember when we went to the Vesperpool, and it was raining, right?”

“Yeah,” I breathed, suddenly very aware of how tightly he was holding me.

“You read what I said in the book, right?”

“You said you wanted to kiss me, didn’t you?”

“Yep,” he giggled. “So this is my revenge.”

He gave me another devious look before he pressed his lips to mine, almost as if he was testing the waters and gauging my reaction. It was brief before he pulled away to look at me, unmoving as he waited for me to say something.

“Kiss me again,” I told him, my voice almost sounding like an order. 

He did so, gently caressing the side of my face as he gave me a gentle kiss, almost like he did before he left. Like he was afraid of hurting me. I brought my arms up to around his neck to keep him as close to me as I possibly could. He seemed to know that I was almost desperate for more. His hand moved from my cheek to the back of my head as he he carefully gathered a handful of my hair, which gave him the ability to gently tug my head whichever way he wanted, and I couldn’t help but let out the quiet moan at the feeling. They continued to bubble up out of my throat as he continued to kiss me, slowly becoming more and more courageous as we carried on in the cold rain never ceased. 

Everything felt so overwhelming. The cold rain on my bare arms, Prompto’s hand carefully pulling at my hair, his tongue gently massaging my own as we let ourselves get lost in each other for those few minutes. It felt like a dream. He pulled away, almost breathless as he looked at me, his eyes full of want as he bit his lip.

Then, as he looked down to my feet that only had socks on to protect them from the weather, he sniggered at me, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he tried to hold in his laughter.

“Should we head back?” he giggled and I nodded, trying to catch my breath. He bent down slightly in front of me, his back facing me. “C’mon, I’ll give you a ride.”

I quickly took him up on his offer, jumping slightly so that he could get a better grip on me, and his hands had managed to fall just on the bare patches of skin above my socks, and I felt him freeze for just a moment before he hoisted me up properly on to his back. 

“Feeling flustered?” I managed to whisper into his ear, and he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“You’ll find out when we get back,” he told me, giving the underside of my bare thighs a quick squeeze. 

“Hmm,” I hummed, tightening my grip on him. “I can’t wait to see what you have planned, Mr. Argentum.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it finally happening after 21 chapters of build up? Who knows? I haven't written it yet, hehe. Thank you so much for your comments! I'm going to try and update once every couple of days until this story's done. There's still a fair amount left, so don't worry too much, haha. <3


	22. Chapter 22

He didn’t let me down from his back even after he’d managed to unlock the door and push it open with his foot. He carried me inside and placed me down on the bed before he stretched out his muscles and turned to look at me, a slight blush on his cheeks.

It was when I was placed down on the dry bed that I realised how uncomfortable my clothes had become in the rain. I could tell that Prompto was uncomfortable too by how he shook his head, trying to get rid of the droplets of rain that were stuck to him. He could only look at me for a few seconds before he sniggered to himself.

“You want a towel?” he asked, his eyebrows creased as he giggled.

“Yes please. I may or may not be freezing right now,” I told him, shivering slightly.

“I guess I got carried away,” he said, sighing loudly as he grabbed the towels from the radiator in the bathroom, throwing one over his shoulders. He approached me and dumped the second one on my head and began rubbing my hair dry. I put my hands up to still his own on my head just to look up and pout at him. He was managing to mess my hair up completely. “Payback,” he grinned at me, recalling the time in the Vesperpool that I’d ruined his own hair.

He moved the towel off of my head to wrap it around my shoulders, and give me an affectionate look as he brushed the few strands of hair that were stuck to my face away.

“You still cold?” he asked, and I nodded, biting my lip slightly.

I wasn’t sure exactly what it was that I wanted at that moment, but I started acting outside of my own body. I grabbed the bottom of his shirt, suddenly feeling almost shy. I knew I didn’t want him to go anywhere, that much I could tell. With a small chuckle, he quickly took my hand in his own and brought it up to his lips, laying small kisses across my knuckles.

He looked at me from under his eyelashes before he moved his lips to my wrist, and he slowly began to crawl onto the bed as he moved his kisses down my arm, to my shoulders, and slowly to my neck as he began pecking at the damp skin. It was almost like the sensation was entirely new to me as just the thought of it being Prompto who was planting these small, soft kisses on my neck was completely overwhelming and almost too much. I couldn’t help but whimper slightly as he moved up to my jaw. He paused at the sound, pulling away to look at me for a moment.

“You alright?” he asked, sounding concerned for a moment as he held himself up on his hands above me.

“Yeah,” I managed to breath, though my hands were trembling. I couldn’t tell if it’s because he was making me nervous, or because the soaking clothes that were clinging to my skin.

“Liar,” he smiled, placing another kiss on my cheek. “You wanna watch that movie?” he asked, but I shook my head.

“I don’t think so,” I managed to stutter. “I’m freezing though.”

“I can help with that,” he said as he lowered himself down again, this time capturing my lips in his own. At first they were gentle, and careful, but they quickly turned into something that felt as though we were both desperate for more of each other. He was pressing these warm kisses into any part of me that he could, almost biting at my bottom lip as time began to tick by.

Every so often he’d dip his tongue into my mouth to run it across my own, and it managed to pull these needy moans from me as I clutched onto any part of him that I could. My hand was tangled in his hair, my other holding onto his shoulder like I didn’t want him to go anywhere. Especially when he let out the smallest, and sweetest moan of his own.

I wanted to hear more of it.

It was as I felt something start to press into my thigh that he jumped away from me, rolling onto the bed and curling up as much as he could. I turned to look at him, feeling half confused, half rejected. I couldn’t help but frown at him, wondering why he’d been so quick to pull away from me.

“I-uh,” he started stuttering, his face redder than I’d ever seen it. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” I asked, turning onto my side to caress his cheek as gently as I could, almost scared that he’d suddenly let his mind wander to the same sad places as the previous day.

“Uhm, I’ve never done anything like this before,” he mumbled, looking half horrified.

I froze for a moment as I tried to process what he was telling me.

“You mean you’re a virgin?” I suddenly blurted out without thinking, and he almost winced at the word.

“Y-yeah,” he muttered. “Sorry, it’s like, totally pathetic.”

“No, no. That’s not what I was trying to say,” I said, hoisting myself up so that I could sit next to him. “It’s actually really cute,” I smiled.

He just buried his face in the duvet like he didn’t want to look at me properly.

“We don’t have to go any further, Prompto,” I told him, trying to pry him away from the duvet so that he’d look at me. Eventually he moved his head slightly to look at me out of one eye, his face still bright red.

“W-what if I want to?” he stuttered. I could tell that he was terrified, more so than I’d ever seen him. I couldn’t help but smirk at him as he tried his best to hide his face away from me. I could tell that he’d been building up the idea of losing his virginity for perhaps a little too long, and I was almost worried that his expectations were far too high for it to ever be satisfying for him.

“Well,” I started, taking his hand in my own and giving him a reassuring smile. “If you really want to carry on, I’ll do everything I can to make it a great experience for you, but I have one rule.”

He finally turned his head out of the covers to look at me, his eyebrow raised.

“If you want to stop, you _have_ to tell me. And it’s perfectly okay if that’s what you want to do,” I smiled, and he looked completely frozen for a few seconds.

“That’s… okay?”

“Of course. Whatever you want to do, sunshine,” I grinned at him.

He used my hand to yank me back down onto the bed, so that I was lying beside him. He quickly encircled me in his arms. He brought his forehead to rest on my own and give me a wide smile.

“You’re so perfect,” he told me.

“So you’ll tell me if you feel uncomfortable at all, right?” I asked. He nodded slightly and moved his head down to press an unsure kiss at the corner of my mouth. I was quick to capture his lips in mine and it didn’t take much effort for us to both get back to the same level of passion and fervour that we’d previously had.

He held me tightly, and didn’t hold back in pressing his body closely against mine. I couldn’t help but let out these needy, wanton moans as his tongue began to massage my own every so slightly. I couldn’t do anything to hold them back as butterflies began to swirl at the pit of my stomach.

The feeling of Prompto pressed against me was unlike anything that I’d felt before. It was so different to how I’d felt with anyone else. I knew that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. It was a strange feeling that almost made me want to cry from the sheer happiness I felt.

After a few minutes, I nervously reached my hand towards his hardened length, and slowly began to trace over it with the tips of my fingers. It was a second of testing the waters, and he let out a loud, surprised moan. He didn’t try to break away from me though. It seemed like it was taking all of his concentration to maintain the kiss that we were sharing.

Once he seemed to relax slightly, I maneuvered my hand so that I could press my palm against him with a little more force. Another loud moan bubbled up out of his throat and he had no choice but to pull away from me slightly as he gasped for air, biting his lip as if he was trying to hold back his cute noises.

I looked at him, as if I were asking him if he was okay, and he nodded slightly in his breathless state. It was hardly even the start of anything and he looked so overwhelmed. It was adorable.

My hand moved away from his crotch as I began to play with the hem of his shirt and I began to lift it up ever so slightly. His hand quickly caught mine as he looked at me.

“I, uh, don’t have the best body, just as a warning,” he mumbled.

I pressed a small kiss against his lips and began to move my hand again, slowly tugging his shirt upwards. He didn’t resist, and instead began to help me rid his torso of the offending article. As I tossed the shirt to the side, I took a minute to look over his body.

He had a lot of really nicely defined muscles, and scattered across his skin was an array of stretch marks that I could tell made him feel uncomfortable as I studied them briefly. I suddenly remembered when we’d first seen each other in Hammerhead, and he’d been quick to pull his shirt down to cover his stomach when it had slightly moved up. I couldn’t help but smirk as I looked up into his brilliant blue eyes.

“You’re perfect,” I mumbled as I pressed a kiss to his now bare collarbone and he let out a strangled moan in return.

“You don’t have to say that,” he murmured as I felt his body tense underneath me.

“But I mean it,” I told him firmly as I began to trail small kisses along his neck, and up towards his ear. He began to squirm underneath my weight as my hand trailed back down towards his crotch. This time he was quick to snicker to himself as he pushed me away.

“No, this feels unfair,” he said as his hands began to play with the skirt of my still soaked dress. I giggled at him, pushing myself up to turn my back to him.

“You have to help me with the zip,” I told him, moving my hair out of the way. I looked back over my shoulder to him. He lifted himself up, and adjusted himself so that I was perched on the edge of the bed, sat in between his legs as he slowly began to pull the zip down.

As more of my skin became exposed, he spread small kisses across my shoulders and down my spine. I peeled the dress away, standing up to finally rid myself of the damp garment. I could feel his eyes on me, and I suddenly felt incredibly exposed and vulnerable in front of him.

As I turned to look at him, stood in front of him in just my underwear, I could see that his eyes were full of lust. He reached out to me to caress my waist, biting his lip as if he was unsure about what he was doing. I placed my hand on top of his and slowly pulled it up towards my chest, hoping to give his some kind of courage. It was almost excruciating as I waited for his hand to reach my breast, but as soon as he was there, he gave it a gentle squeeze. My breath hitched a little as he did so, and he pulled me a little closer so that he could press his lips to my stomach.

I couldn’t help but give him a small moan of encouragement.

It was that small gesture that gave him some kind of courage, and he was quick grab my hand and pull me down onto the bed, crawling on top of me. He started to plant kisses on my neck that slowly moved lower and lower until he was at the edge of my patterned bra. His fingers moved up slightly to pull the strap down my shoulder and in turn he hooked his fingers around the slightly padded cup and pulled it down to expose one of my hardened nipples.

He smirked slightly at the sight of it before he gave it a small kiss, looking up at me to gauge my reaction. As he saw me bite my lip, he quickly turned the small kiss into a long lick. It was at that point that I could feel my sense leaving my body. My hand reached up to the back of his head and gripped at his hair. He ran his tongue over the hardened bud several times, seemingly reveling in the sounds that were involuntarily coming out of my mouth.

I arched my back up so that I could get somewhat closer to him, and he lifted me up and began playing with the clasp of my bra that was digging into my skin. After a few seconds, I could tell that he was struggling, and I reached my free hand behind me to help him. As the clasp came undone, he broke contact with me to look up at me with a frown.

“You need to teach me how to do that,” he insisted, and I couldn’t help but giggle. He was quick to strip me of the uncomfortable piece of clothing, and he threw it to the pile of clothes that was slowly building on the floor. He didn’t wait for a response as his attention was drawn to the newly revealed nipple.

Considering this was his first time with anyone in an intimate manner, I couldn’t help but be impressed at just how he made me feel. I had to wonder if it was just because it was Prompto’s lips that were on me; someone that I genuinely loved and cared for.

Regardless of that, I could feel myself becoming more and more impatient. I pushed on his shoulders, and pushed him back down into the mattress, quickly throwing my legs over him so that I was straddling him, pressing myself down on his erection.

He grasped onto my bare thighs as I did so, and I leant down to press kisses into his soft skin. I didn’t let myself linger for too long as they began to trail downwards, over his nipples, and down past his well defined stomach muscles. I stopped at his belly button, and began playing with the button and then the zip on his trousers. I looked up at him, and he looked as if he was a mess of mixed up feelings already. It was like he was holding himself back from fully letting himself go.

“Is this okay?” I asked him, and he nodded, lifting himself up slightly so that I could pull down his trousers along with his underwear. He looked even more nervous than before as his dick sprang free and I rid him of the last of his clothing.

I took a moment to caress his hipbone, rubbing soothing patterns into his side with my thumb. It didn’t seem to calm him down as I took his length, and applied the slightest bit of pressure as I slowly began to pump him with my hand. He bit his lip as he inhaled with a sharpness. I couldn’t help but watch every reaction as I ran my hand over him, and rubbed my thumb over the tip of his cock, spreading the few beads of liquid that had formed. The way he gasped as I did was perfect, and beautiful.

After a brief minute, I lowered my head down and slowly licked the underside of his shaft. He let out the loudest moan he had yet before his teeth clamped down on his knuckle in an attempt to quieten himself. I reached upwards, tugging his hand away from his mouth, and linked his fingers in my own. He looked at me with a desperation in his eyes, and I repeated the motion.

“I want to hear you,” I mumbled, clearly overtaken by the moment.

With those words, I pulled myself up slightly and took the head of his length into my mouth. He didn’t hold back his groans of pleasure as my tongue twirled around him and I began to suck ever so slightly on him. His free hand came to gently grasp the hair that had fallen down on the side of my face, as if it was his own form of encouragement. I couldn’t tell if I was being kind or cruel by taking it as slowly as I was. The longer it went on, the harder I began to suck, and the gasps and groans fell out of his mouth one after another. It was the most perfect symphony of sounds I’d ever heard.

I could feel that he was building up to his climax, but the moment that I felt it, he quickly pushed me away, gasping for air. He let himself calm down for a few seconds before tugging on my shoulder, signalling that he wanted me to get myself up. I obliged, pressing kisses up his stomach as I made my way up to his mouth. He was quick to catch me in a passionate kiss as he calmed himself down, his tongue swirling in my mouth. The sheer force of the kiss made me feel dizzy.

When we both pulled away from the kiss, I smiled at him sweetly and pulled away a few strands of hair that were matted to his forehead with sweat. It seemed that the humidity of Lestallum mixed with the rain that was still pattering on the windows was proving a little much for both of us.

“Are you okay?” I asked and he was quick to nod adamantly.

“Yeah, I just want to, uh, save myself,” he admitted shyly.

“That’s okay. Do you need anything?”

He wrapped an arm around my waist and flip me over so that he was on top of me, pressing kisses into my chest again.

“I need you,” he muttered in a low, husky voice, and the coil that was building in my stomach began to tighten even more.

His fingers traced down my sides, past my underwear so that he could gently run his fingers over my thighs. It seemed as if he was trying to build even more anticipation for me. He started to become even more confident as time went on as he grasped whatever bare skin he could lay his hands on. I was happy to help him as he tugged on my underwear, ridding myself of the last barrier between us.

With the last bit of clothing out of the way, I couldn’t help but feel crazily vulnerable in front of him, as his eyes wandered up and down my body. He looked as if he was really taking in the moment that I was lying before him, desperately wanting him to give me any kind of contact.

It was then that he hesitated, biting his lip and forcing himself to look me in the eye.

“I really don’t know what I’m doing,” he admitted, his voice shaking slightly.

“That’s okay,” I smiled, taking his hand in my own. “Do you want me to show you?” I asked in what I thought was a seductive voice. His eyes widened, and he swallowed the lump in his throat before nodding.

I brought his hand downwards until his fingers were gently resting on my clit, and his face seemed to redden even further, but he looked somewhat pleased with himself as I let out the slightest of moans. My hand traced his as I finally got his fingers to work in a circular motion, and the pressure was a relief in one way, but it also served to make my want for him grow even quicker.

He was paying close attention to my reactions as he applied different amounts of pressure, and sped up his movements. He was the one who eventually took the initiative and let his fingers wander down slightly. I could feel myself tighten up in anticipation as he inserted a singular finger into me.

“Is this okay?” he asked, as if he really didn’t have any idea how I felt. I nodded slightly as I let out a small gasp. I placed small kisses across his jaw as I reached his ear.

“Bend your finger a little,” I whispered, all sense of shame going out of the window. He did so, and began to move his hand back and forth slowly. I couldn’t help but arch my back towards him as I let the feelings overcome me.

It was only a minute before he sat up on his knees, his finger still moving inside of me. He didn’t say a word as he maneuvered himself downwards, so that his face was hovering over my clit. He didn’t take more than a few seconds before he lowered his head and began to experimentally run his tongue over me.

It was a small gesture, but it immediately made me tense up and let out a moan that was far louder than I was anticipating. He backed away slightly as his eyes ran up my body to look at my face to try and gauge what I was feeling. I bit my lip as he looked at me, nodding slightly as if to tell him that it felt good. He withdrew his finger, only for it to be replaced by two. He showed me no mercy as I started to cry out at the feeling. He quickly began to lap at my clit once more, his fingers frantically pumping in and out of me.

God, it felt amazing.

Although this was his first time doing anything like this, the way that he concentrated on my reactions and adapted to what he thought I was enjoying was incredibly impressive.

His licks began to turn into incredibly gentle sucking, and I was quickly losing myself in his actions. I tried to back away from him, but with his free hand, he held me close, wrapping his arm around the back of my leg, and letting his hand rest on my stomach.

He wasn’t going to let me get away from him under any circumstances.

He broke away from me for just a second to murmur a few husky and hungry words.

“I wanna make you cum,” he said with no hint of nervousness in his voice. It was like he’d thrown all caution to the wayside as his mouth began to work on me again, and I couldn't help but find it to be the most irresistible thing he'd ever done.

An array of moans fell out of my mouth as he worked tirelessly on me, and I was quickly and rapidly falling towards the edge. It didn’t take long after he muttered those words before I was gripping the sheets underneath me as he pushed me just that little bit further, sending electric waves across my body as my muscles collapsed underneath his touch. I let out uncaring, low screams as I tightened around his fingers, desperately trying to push his head away from me. It felt so sensitive as he gave one last, long lick before pulling away and wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

He was quick to return to my side as he collapsed next to me, pressing his mouth against mine, immediately desperate for more of my attention. I moaned into his mouth as I slowly came down from the high of my climax. I was pressed close to him, shivering slightly as his fingers moved to run over my back in delicate and intricate patterns.

“Was that okay?” he asked, the nerves returning to his voice as he backed away from me.

“Yes. Yes, god. That was incredible,” I said breathlessly, trying to brush the beads of sweat that had collected on my forehead away.

A proud look crossed his face before he quickly began to fidget with a blanket that lay at the foot of my bed, bringing it up to cover the two of us. He rested his forehead against my own, and kindly gave me a moment to regain my composure.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I ran a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes and let out a slight exhale as I combed his scalp.

“Pretty good,” he grinned as he relaxed under my touch.

“You wanna carry on?” I asked as I snuggled up to him slightly. I was content just to enjoy the way he was stroking my bare spine.

“Only if you want to,” he whispered as he pressed a chaste kiss against my forehead.

“Of course,” I said, placing a hand on his chest and pushing myself away. I bit my lip as I backed away, wondering how to bring up the subject that was always the biggest mood killer. “Uhm, are you okay with wearing a condom?” I asked in a small, tiny voice.

A look of horror crossed his face for a moment as he sat straight up.

“Damn it, I didn’t think,” he said, almost sounding panicked. “Uh, I don’t have one.”

I reached my hand up to stroke his back carefully, trying to hold back my smile.

“I have some, it’s fine, Prompto,” I said, a hint of a laugh in my voice. He turned to look at me, his face bright red. I rolled over towards the bedside table and fumbled with the drawer underneath it to pull out a sealed box starting to pick at the selophine. “Is that okay?” I asked again.

He lay back with a sigh of relief before nodding. “Yeah, that’s okay.” He then started to giggle slightly as he turned to look at me, his blush showing no signs of subsiding. “If that’s the worst thing that happens today, I’ll be happy.”

I chuckled along with him as I finally pulled out a singular packet and threw the box on the bedside table.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” I joked as I began to tear at the packet. I took his length in my hand again and smiled at him. “Just relax for a second, okay?” I half asked and he nodded, biting his lip. I began to roll the latex down his hardened cock. I revelled in the way that he squirmed under my touch. By the time it reached the base, I could tell that he was starting to become nervous again. “You alright?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you want to do?” I asked him as I began to place gentle kisses along his neck, and I could hear him quietly gasp as I did so.

“Uh, what do you mean?”

“Is there anything you want to try? Like, positions and stuff.”

I didn’t cease nibbling at his neck, and he brought his hand up to the back of my head, telling me that he didn’t want me to stop. My nibbling became more and more forceful until I was sucking on the skin around his collarbone, determined to leave some kind of mark on him. Something that would prove to me that in that moment, he was mine. My brain had become somewhat primal in those moments.

“Uhm, do you think you could, uh, be on top?” he asked through a shy stutter, and I couldn’t help but grin against his skin before I pulled away.

“Of course, but you’ll owe me for next time,” I winked, and he smiled at me slightly in return.

He adjusted himself in the mattress as I hauled myself up and threw my leg over him. I couldn’t help but take in the sight of his nervous, but handsome form below me.

I placed my hands either side of his head and lowered myself down to give him a lingering kiss. It was only a few seconds before I could feel him growing impatient.

It was then that I had a moment of self-doubt. I thought of the other girls he’d mentioned, like Cidney, and Aranea, and had the stupid thought that maybe he would have liked his first time to be with one of them. I’d at least seen Cidney before and she was stunning; far more beautiful than I found myself. I wasn’t sure where they’d come from. I never had doubts about myself when it came to men before, but Prompto was the one I wanted to be with more than anyone else. I just wanted him to want me more than anyone else.

“Are you 100% sure that you want to do this?” I asked, my voice small.

Prompto knew me so well. He could tell that I had doubts gnawing away at the back of my mind, even though I’d never voiced my worries to him before. His face softened as he reached his hand towards my face and he let his fingers rest under my chin. He looked into my eyes with a fierce and stern glare.

“100%. I want it to be with you. No one else.”

He pulled me back down towards him, placing a reassuring kiss on my lips. I wanted to cry from how sweet his words were. He gave me a small smile as he looked at me, his eyes brimming with affection towards me.

“I’ll go slow, but if you have to tell me how you’re feeling and if you want me to speed up or anything, alright?”

Before I backed away from him, he pulled me in for another kiss, this time longer, and somewhat frantic. I could feel his heart racing underneath my fingers as I traced patterns on his chest.

“Thank you,” he murmured quietly as I pulled away from him. I shook my head and pushed myself up. There was nothing in the world that he needed to thank me for.

“You ready?” I asked as I steadied myself on his chest, and he let out a long breath before nodding.

I wondered if he thought that this would be the moment that he would become a ‘proper man.’

I took his length in my hand before slowly and cautiously lowering myself onto him. It was only slightly at first as I looked at the man underneath my fingertips. His face scrunched up in a strange expression as he struggled to keep his eyes on my body. His hand found my thigh and tightly squeezed it. I paused for a moment as he adjusted to the feeling before he nodded at me again, as if he was telling me to continue.

I sank down fully onto him, and we both let out loud moans in sync. The way he fit inside me was perfect as the head of his cock rubbed perfectly against the sweet spot inside of me. His mouth was slightly agape as he took in a lungful of air. His face looked perfect as he forced himself to look up at me, and nod again.

I began to move, slowly pushing myself up and sinking back down, over and over again as these lewd moans fell out of his mouth. He was so loud, and no part of him cared. I loved hearing them as there was little to no thought behind them. He wasn’t trying to encourage me. He was biting his lip as he tried to hold them back, even slightly.

“How does it feel?” I finally asked, as I could feel something beginning to build up inside of me at a rapid pace.

“It’s really tight,” he said, a lot louder than he’d anticipated. “Can you go faster?” His second sentence was much quieter as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand. I smiled, taking both of his hands in mine and placing them on my hips. He gripped at them tightly, with enough pressure to leave small bruises in their wake.

I didn’t take the time to respond to his words as I began to move again, this time a little bit quicker than before. His hands were quick to show me exactly what it was that he wanted. As the seconds ticked on, he began to lift me up and slam me back down with a lot more vigor than I’d anticipated. It felt magical as he started to come undone in front of me.

While I could feel an undeniable heat begin to take over my body, I couldn’t take my eyes off of his face as it contorted into expressions of pleasure and passion. It was sudden that his eyes shot open as he reached his limit, his hips bucking up into me in an attempt to gain even more friction. With one last, incredible grunt, his hands stilled my hips as he came.

There were a few seconds as his face scrunched up and one of his hands quickly gathered my loose hair and pulled me down towards him for another kiss that felt as if it was full of so much more emotion than usual. He moaned endlessly into the kiss as he came down from his orgasm.

I think he was potentially more aware than I was that I hadn’t quite gotten my fill. He slowly and carefully pulled himself out of me before his right hand quickly found my entrance, and he quickly inserted two of his fingers into me and began to pump in and out with as much strength as he could muster.

When he began to use his thumb to rub circles in my clit, I quickly lost myself in the intense feeling of my second orgasm. I was practically squealing into his mouth as I came, but his hand didn’t still immediately. His fingers slowed inside me as my walls clenched around him.

I collapsed on top of him, as I forced myself to break the kiss to take in as much air as my lungs could hold. I was still loudly moaning into his ear as he pulled his fingers out of me and brought his arms around me to gently roll me onto the mattress.

He didn’t linger for all that long. He placed one last kiss on the corner of my mouth before he quickly sat up and began fiddling with the condom that he looked eager to get off. Once it was safely placed in the bin, he clambered back into bed and collapsed against the pillows.

“Was that okay?” I asked as I nestled myself in the crook of his neck. I could feel his heartbeat slow as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him.

“Perfect,” he mumbled as he settled down, letting out a long yawn. “Though, it could have been a complete disaster, and it would have been perfect.”

I looked up at him, and I could see that his eyelids were becoming heavy.

“How come?”

“Because it was the woman that I love,” he said nonchalantly before I could feel him hold his breath as he was frozen in terror. I slowly backed away to look at him with wide eyes. His eyes were equally as wide as mine.

“Do you mean that?” I asked, unsure if it was just something he’d said in the aftermath because he felt as if he had to. Yet it felt so natural as it came out of his mouth.

“I, uhm. Y-yeah. But I wasn’t planning on telling you like this,” he stuttered, his body suddenly seeming very awake.

I could feel hot tears begin to sting at my eyes, and as he noticed, he looked even more horrified than before.

“Wait, no. I didn’t want to upset you,” he said as he cupped my cheek.

“You haven’t,” I sniffed.

I didn’t realise until that very moment just how desperate I was to hear those words from someone. And it couldn’t have just been anyone. It had to be from Prompto.

“I feel the same way,” I admitted as butterflies began to swirl around my stomach. I didn’t know how desperate I felt to tell him. I wanted to tell him all about the moment that I realised that I loved him, as he told me that my past self didn’t matter in the rain on Lestallum on that awful day.

“You do?!” he asked in almost a shout, but he quickly covered his mouth as if he didn’t mean to say it so loudly.

“Of course I do,” I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, you’re _the_ Prompto Argentum.” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. He let out a laugh before gathering me up in his arms again, holding me as if he wanted to protect me with everything he had. “So, how do you feel about watching that movie now?” I giggled, and he nodded.

“As long as I don’t have to move, that sounds perfect.”

“You’d have to let me go though,” I giggled, but his grip only tightened on me.

“Forget it then. Just stay with me, okay?”

“I can definitely do that,” I hummed.

I could tell that he was absolutely exhausted as he rested his head against my own, almost nuzzling me as he closed his eyes.

“I love you,” he mumbled. “Just incase you didn’t know.”

“I love you,” I responded, trying to hold back my grin as I closed my eyes and settled down in his arms. It was barely a few minutes before we both fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As someone who has literally never written smut before, I just can't look at this anymore, haha. I hope it's alright. I just can't do anymore to this, oh my life.


	23. Chapter 23

The next day I was awoken by gentle kisses being placed on my shoulders and the feeling of arms encircling me tightly. With a grumble, I inched my eyes open to look around my dimly lit apartment and behind me to see Prompto who was cradling my body with his own. There was the faint sound of the rain still pattering on the windows, and I felt strangely cosy. I suddenly remembered everything that had happened the night before.

It was a strange feeling. I wasn’t used to waking up the next morning and feeling so content to be gathered in someone’s arms. I couldn’t think of a time I hadn’t woken up the morning after without a hangover and a lingering feeling of regret. 

“Good morning, sunshine,” I hummed, trying to find enough energy to turn around to look at him. He still looked exhausted, his hair flat and slightly textured from the mix of the rain and hair product. “How’re you feeling?”

“Surprisingly normal,” he giggled.

“Did you think you’d feel much different?” I asked as I wrapped my free arm around his torso and pulled myself closer to him, nuzzling myself into his bare chest.

“I guess I did. But this is good,” he told me, brushing my hair out of my face. “How do you feel about me making breakfast?” 

“I mean, I’d be grateful if I didn’t have to move,” I mumbled, smiling slightly. My body felt like it was made out of lead. It had probably been a mix of our previous night together and every hour of overtime catching up with me all at once. 

“Okay,” he giggled, pressing a small kiss to the corner of my mouth before slowly rolling me away and sitting up. He stretched his muscles and groped for the clothes that were cast off to the side. As soon as he was up, back in his trousers and creased tank top, and strolling over to the kitchen, I felt strangely lonely. 

With a sigh I turned myself over, wrapping the blanket around myself so I could get to the dresser to find some clean clothes out. I didn’t particularly feel like getting completely dressed, and it felt a little pointless to really dress myself properly, so I settled on a clean set of underwear before I crawled back into bed and turned the TV on, wondering if there was anything interesting to watch.

With the recent calamity of the sunlight completely disappearing, I had the option of watching the news or I had the option of watching one of the many many reruns of old TV shows. The news never brought me any more understanding of the situation, and usually it made me feel worse about everything, so I settled on watching whatever it was that popped up, not really paying attention as I reached for my phone.

I was greeted to a message from Amarantha, and smiling slightly I opened it.

‘Hope you’re having fun with Prompto and your time off. I wondered if you wanted to get dinner later? It’d be nice to get to know him and your other friends while they’re here :)’

I quickly set to replying, trying to ignore the noises coming from the kitchen as Prompto pulled out whatever pots and pans he needed for his culinary endeavors. 

‘Sure, that sounds like fun. So you want me to invite my friends from the other night too?’

She’d replied within a matter of seconds.

‘I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to getting to know the muscular dude with the tattoos.’

I couldn’t help but giggle at the message, finding it quite funny that Gladio had a new admirer. 

‘I’ll be sure to invite them. Though I’ll say Ignis is nicer.’

Before I’d even noticed, Prompto was slowly walking into the room, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he tried to balance the plate he was carrying in one hand and the mug he had in the other. I put my phone away, and sat myself up a little bit smiling at him as he approached, and ever so slowly he placed the plate on my lap and handed me the mug of tea.

On the plate was the food he’d made for me; slightly too crispy bacon and eggs that looked like they’d been mangled. I couldn’t help but grin at him when I noticed the little heart he’d drawn on the plate in ketchup. How was he so adorable?

“This looks awesome,” I told him, half a lie but I was excited to try it nonetheless. 

“You don’t have to lie,” he giggled as he turned to the kitchen to fetch his own food. He returned a moment later, after navigating the floor and making it to the bed without spilling or breaking anything. 

“Dare I ask what the occasion is?” I asked as he settled down next to me.

“Hm, I guess there isn’t one. I just wanted to thank you, I suppose.”

“For what?”

“Making last night so much fun,” he mumbled, blushing as if he was still embarrassed by the idea. “I know it was pretty much all about me and if I was having a good time. So I guess this is thank you breakfast.”

“So I suppose I shouldn’t get used to it?” I asked him as I started to cut little chunks of food out and pop them in my mouth. It didn’t taste bad, but it was far from Ignis’ standards. Still, I happily ate it, thankful that Prompto was the one who had made it for me. “Anyway,” I said, still chewing on a little bit of the bacon. “It wasn’t like I didn’t have a good time too.”

“So you weren’t just saying it?”

“Nope. Why would I lie to you? It’d just mean that you’d carry on doing things that weren’t doing anything for me, right?”

“Uh, I-I guess.”

“You’re still not super comfortable talking about it, huh?”

“It’s just a bit new for me, I think,” he said, playing with his food. 

“Well, just take your time. If you wanna talk anything over, just let me know. I suppose that’s what people in a relationship do, right?”

“You suppose?”

“I mean, this is kinda new to me too. It’s like, the first relationship I’ve been in that actually means something to me. So I hope you can put up with me learning things too,” I giggled, and he looked a little surprised before he smiled. 

“I’m kinda happy to know that I’m not the only one learning things then,” he nodded, finally taking a huge bite of the bacon on his plate. “Anyway, I’m kinda curious about something.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“What was your first time like?”

I thought hard on it for a minute, trying to recall the details but not really able to remember them clearly. 

“It hurt a lot, I think.”

“What do you mean, you think?”

“I don’t remember it that well. I was young, lonely, stupid and drunk so a lot of the details are kind of a blur to me. I don’t think I could even tell you the guy’s name.”

“You were drunk?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Don’t you think you might have been taken advantage of?” he said cautiously. I thought on it for a good long minute, frowning as I scooped up bits of food, somehow unable to ruin the heart he’d made on the plate. It was the first time I’d given the idea any thought, and it was entirely possible, but I ended up shaking my head. It wasn’t a distressing thought, it was just one that was kind of… there. 

“I don’t think I really cared at the time,” I admitted in a mumble.It wasn’t exactly a distressing thought that came to mind. Prompto looked at me, almost with a look of pity in his eyes as his shoulders slumped. “I mean, if I’d known that you were going to waltz back into my life and things would turn out the way they did, I would have waited. But I had no idea, so I was stupid,” I told him, nodding to myself.

“Well, I hope that you know that you’re worth more than that. You deserve to have someone who loves you and really cares about you,” he muttered.

“Well, I have you, don’t I?”

“Yup! You’re stuck with me now, so I hope you don’t get too annoyed at me.”

“It hasn’t happened yet,” I grinned, leaning my head on his shoulder as it was about all the affection I could muster at that moment. “Oh, by the way, Amarantha wanted to meet up for dinner with us. And apparently Gladio.”

“That seems a bit random,” he commented. 

“Mm, looks like she has a thing for muscular tattooed dudes, as she so put it. So I was thinking we could go out tonight and hang out with her. I just need to call Ignis and see if he wants to come too. And maybe Iris if she wants to come as well.”

He nodded before there was a few seconds of silence. He looked as if he were mulling over something, and it made me feel nervous.

“You know, Gladio was thinking about joining the hunters,” Prompto told me as he finished off the last of his food. It was a thought I immediately knew had more to it, and I could feel the same worry bubble up at the bottom of my stomach that I’d felt when he was in Altissia. 

“You want to join him?” I asked, knowing his exact thoughts.

“I mean, daemons are no big deal. I’ve fought them before on our adventures.”

“I didn’t know you were off doing such dangerous things,” I sighed. 

Really, it would have been unfair of me to tell him not to go. If it was something that he wanted to do, then I shouldn’t have stopped him. It still made me feel nervous, as if him leaving and not coming back was this fear that was buried somewhere within me.

“Think about it. If I start making money with the hunters, I get to help people, and I can help pay the rent here as long as I’m staying here,” he smiled, trying to reassure me. 

“As long as you don’t get yourself beat up again,” I sighed, trying my best to put my own desires to one side. 

“I won’t. And I won’t be away on really long trips, either.”

“Then, I’ll trust you. Do what it is you need to do, but I’ll be super mad if you get yourself hurt again.”

He smiled, placing a brief kiss on my cheek before he scooped up the empty plates and took them to the kitchen. I still felt nervous at the idea, but I really had to trust in Prompto’s abilities, even though I’d never seen them for myself. He came back once, I told myself. So he could do it again. 

It was then that there was a knock at the door, and Prompto was quick to skip over to the door and pull it open.

“Oh, what are you doing here?” I heard Prompto ask, his tone more surprised than anything. Suddenly realising that I was only slightly dressed, I buried myself upto my neck in the duvet and turned my head to look towards the door, not quite able to see who was on the other side.

“You mentioned that Rena might be willing to help me learn how to cook again,” I heard a familiar voice say. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”

“Of course I didn’t,” Prompto said, laughing nervously. He was a terrible liar. He pulled the door open to usher his friend inside, and I gave him a wide eyed look, silently asking him what he was doing.

As Prompto looked at me, shrugging and mouthing silent words at me that I had to squint to focus on.

‘What? It’s not like he can see.’

I almost rolled my eyes at him before clearing my throat.

“Morning, Ignis,” I chirped, slowly and quietly moving towards the edge of the mattress. “You came here on your own?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Are you still in bed? And yes, I just about managed it.”

I wasn’t sure if I should have been concerned that he was wandering around Lestallum by himself, or impressed that he’d managed it. 

“I should probably be getting up anyway. Just give me a couple of minutes to, uh, get changed, I guess.”

Prompto sniggered as he closed the door behind Ignis, and was quick to guide him to the couch. Even if he couldn’t see, it felt weird to be wandering around the room in just my underwear when Ignis was present. It kind of felt like I was sneaking around behind a parent's back, doing something that I shouldn’t have been. 

I quickly grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts out of the dresser and bolted to the bathroom. I gave myself a couple of minute to brush the knots out of my hair and brush my teeth, but really I didn’t have much of a clue what I was supposed to help Ignis with. I needed to go shopping, but I really begrudged paying so much money for food. 

As soon as I exited the bathroom, I leant on the doorframe, looking to Ignis.

“How do you feel about braving the market?” I asked him. “I don’t really have a lot of anything in at the minute. You can always stay here if you’d rather.”

“I have to get used to it one day,” he told me. “I’d imagine I’ll be fine if I have the two of you with me.”

“Hear that, Prompto? You have to come too,” I teased, and he let out a sigh. “I have an idea though. My friend from work was hoping we could have dinner together tonight, so we could make something and invite everyone over.”

“That sounds okay, I suppose,” I heard Prompto say, trying to stifle a yawn. 

“Well, you clean up in here, I’ll clean up whatever mess you made in the kitchen earlier, and then we’ll go.”

“I didn’t make  _ that  _ much of a mess,” Prompto pouted. 

“Are you trying to tell me that Prompto cooked this morning?” Ignis suddenly asked. 

“He did. And it was pretty good,” I giggled. Ignis made an impressed noise as he placed his thumb on the bottom of his chin as if he was in thought.

“I wonder why he never helped with the cooking when we were camping,” he contemplated.

“Well, none of you were my girlfriend,” Prompto pointed out as he started collecting our discarded clothes off of the floor and quickly put them in the laundry basket. 

I couldn’t help but smirk at them as I entered the kitchen, met with a little more mess than I’d anticipated. I could tell that he was absolutely out of his element when I looked at the debris from his cooking adventure. There were crumbs littering the counter, little splodges of cooking oil accompanying them. It was then that I noticed the window was slightly open and there were two slices of toast in the bin that looked like they’d actually been on fire at some point. I couldn’t help but think it was strange that I found even that adorable.

Smiling to myself, I started to clean the kitchen, feeling more upbeat than I had in a very, very long time. 

It wasn’t another half an hour before we were heading into the market. With my apartment cleaned, and Amarantha, Gladio and Iris invited around later for dinner, all that was left to do was decide on what it was that would be a good idea to make. Luckily the rain had stopped, but the air still felt thick and humid. 

I couldn’t keep my mind off of what it was that I wanted to make. I wanted to make sure it was simple enough that Ignis could find his way around rather easily, but at the same time, I wanted it to be enjoyable to eat afterwards.

“Are you thinking about what we should make?” Ignis suddenly asked as we slowly walked alongside him, Prompto gently guiding him when he needed. 

“Yeah. I have to admit, I’m kind of struggling.”

It was then that he leant towards the sound of my voice to whisper to me. It was then that I got a serious look at his scarred face, and I could see that one of his eyes was slightly opened, the colour that was once there had been completely replaced by a milky white. It was almost eerie. 

“I know something that Prompto would enjoy. One of his favourite foods is Green Curry Soup,” he whispered, just loud enough so that I could hear. 

“You know how to cook it?” I said, a hint of hope in my voice.

“Of course. I can instruct you, but you have to help me out in return.”

“Sounds like a deal to me,” I grinned. 

“What are you guys talking about?” Prompto said, leaning over from the other side of Ignis to give me a pout. 

“Chef things,” I told him. 

“Can you tell me about it?” he asked.

“Are you a chef?” 

“Not really,” he said, a sad look in his eyes as if he knew it was the only way I’d think about telling him.

“Then nope. You’ll find out later.”

The market was absolutely bustling with people. It was potentially the most crowded I’d seen it yet. It really wasn’t the kind of space that was meant for much more than a hundred people at most, but with what had happened, it more often than not felt like Lestallum was bursting at the seams. At first it had gotten a little busier with the few refugees that had made their way from Insomnia to Lestallum, but it was much worse with the city being the only safehaven for miles. 

In any case, taking Ignis in seemed like a dreadful idea. I saw him hesitate for a moment as we approached the sound of the bustling crowd, but he seemed to shake his head as if he was determined to start learning how he was supposed to deal with his new normal as soon as he could. 

I couldn’t help but admire Ignis. Even though he’d been the only one to come back with these horrific life altering injuries, he didn’t seem to complain at all. He just took it all in his stride. Like it was a rite of passage for him. 

“You don’t have to do this today,” I told him sternly. “You might want to rush through as much as possible to get yourself adjusted, but don’t. We’ll start with cooking today.”

He sighed, but nodded. 

“You’ll need quite a few things,” he informed me, patting his breast pocket only to bring out a small notepad and a pen. He took a few seconds to feel the pages under his fingers before he nodded to himself and began to write. After a few seconds, he tore the page out and handed it to me. His handwriting was somehow beautiful still, and completely legible. 

“Prompto, will you stay with him for a little bit?” I said as I peered at the list. 

Chickatrice leg, Allural shallots, sweet peppers, sheep milk and green curry paste. They all sounded attainable at the very least. 

“We could just head back if that would make things easier,” Prompto offered, giving me a smile. 

“Whatever you want to do. I might be a while,” I told them, eying the crowd that was coagulating in the market. 

“We’ll go back, then,” Ignis nodded. “I wouldn’t want to be a burden to either of you.”

“It’s not that,” I told him with a reassuring tone in my voice. “Besides, you should rest for a bit. I’m going to need you if cooking this is going to go well.”

“I suppose you’re right. Thank you,” he smiled. Before I bounced off into the market to try and get everything I needed to, I gave Prompto a quick peck on the cheek before I spun around and hastily made my way inside.

By the time I was out, I felt like I was overwhelmed and grossly overheated. I fanned myself as I huffed slightly, desperate for a drink of water. It wouldn’t be much longer before I got home, I thought, so after readjusting my bag, I began to step forward. It was then that I was greeted by a smiling face, a small bottle in his hand as he almost skipped towards me. 

“What are you doing here?” I asked Prompto as he approached me, the bottle stretched out towards me. 

“Ignis mentioned that it was humid, so I thought that I’d bring you a drink,” he said, laughing slightly. 

“It was totally Ignis’ idea, wasn’t it?” I asked him, raising my eyebrow towards him.

“Shut up,” he pouted, scooping the bag out of my hand, and peeking inside. He frowned, as if he really couldn’t figure out what the vegetables and liquids were supposed to make. 

“Well, thanks for bringing me a drink,” I told him with a smile, gratefully taking a huge swig from the bottle. It felt like the best relief I’d had in my life after the ordeal of the market. Once the bottle had it’s lid back on, I tucked it away in my bag and we began on our way. 

Even if it was Ignis’ idea, and even if the gesture was really small, it was then that I started to feel like I was the luckiest person in the world. 

It seemed like the day had ticked on rather quickly. By the time I’d gotten back, excused myself so that I could get a shower to get rid of the sweat brought on by the sheer humidity in the air and just about started setting things up in the kitchen, there was a knock at the door.

Prompto was quick to tuck his phone away -- where he’d clearly been engrossed in a few rounds of King’s Knight -- and jump up to answer it quickly. As he pulled it open, I could hear Amarantha’s sing song voice as she came into the apartment, seemingly in a great mood. 

I couldn’t help but grin at her as she appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, a bottle of rosé wine in her hands. She’d clearly made an effort in her appearance that evening, her dark hair falling in loose curls around her face, and her makeup looking so flawless that she’d clearly spent a long time pouring over it. Even without her saying it, I could tell that she’d put a lot of effort into impressing Gladio. I couldn’t help but think it was kind of cute. 

“You look amazing!” I chirped as I scooped her up into a hug. “You’re making me think I should ditch making dinner to try and match you,” I joked.

She giggled slightly and pulled away from me. 

“Nah, you have that natural beauty going on,” she winked before thrusting the bottle towards me. She was always around to make me feel just that little bit better about myself. “Anyway, you have to make dinner. You gotta give me a little bit to get to know your boyfriend. Gotta make sure he’s looking after you.”

I couldn’t help but snigger at her. 

“Alright, alright,” I giggled, strolling past her and out of the kitchen. “Ignis, you think you could come and teach me how to make this?” I asked. 

He nodded, already prepared with his jacket resting over the arm of the couch and his sleeves rolled up. He quickly groped for the cane that was resting beside him and slowly began to make his way over to me. Amarantha gave me a look, as if she was questioning why I was asking for help with the only person in the room that couldn’t see, and I gave her a smile.

“Ignis is probably the best cook I know,” I told her. “You’re in for such a treat.”

By the time that we were almost done with dinner, Gladio and Iris had appeared, and the bottle of wine from Amarantha had been cracked open. I still seemed to enjoy the sounds of conversation that were drifting to the kitchen, making my home feel just that little bit more cosy. 

It was a good job that we’d had such a change of plans as the rain had started again, and I knew that The Surgate’s Beanmine would have been a terrible choice of venue for our dinner with all of their seating being outside.

I was quite happy with how dinner turned out. It looked delicious, and it smelt even better. Ignis had done what he could to help me, and mostly took to carefully and slowly cutting the ingredients into the appropriate sizes. Of course he’d been instructing me on how it was that I was supposed to make the soup, and I realised that there was an awful lot I could learn from him while he slowly got used to being in the kitchen again. 

It was just as I turned the heat off that Prompto poked his head around the corner. 

“Are you making green curry soup?” he asked, almost glaring at me.

“Maybe.”

Ignis and I replied in union, and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to start giggling. 

“Just go and sit down,” I insisted, taking a few seconds to push him out of the kitchen and back towards the other three. “It’ll be like, another minute or two. You can wait.”

At the mention of food, the others on the floor adjusted and looked at me with wide smiles, almost as if they’d starved themselves all day in preparation for the meal. 

After dishing up the food, and serving it to the others, I finally got the chance to sit down, only to see Prompto’s beaming face.

“This is one of my favourites,” he said as he scooted just a little closer to me on the floor. 

“Oh? Really? I’m so good at guessing,” I told him in a sarcastic voice. He looked a little confused. 

“Oh, Ignis told you?” he asked, suddenly clicking. I nodded in response, and quickly tucked into my food. I was quite impressed with how it tasted, especially with it being my first time making it. Obviously, Ignis’ instructions absolutely helped, but I was happy to learn one of Prompto’s favourite foods. 

By the time we’d finished, Gladio was knee deep in the story of how we’d all met in Hammerhead, and Amarantha seemed enthralled by the tale, leaning in slightly as she listened to him speak. 

It wasn’t anything that she hadn’t heard before from me, but perhaps it was different to her when she heard it from her new crush. 

“Oh, how strange that you and Prompto managed to run into each other,” she said, turning to me and winking as if she was telling me to play along.

“Oh, right. Yeah. Totally weird,” I said, trying to suppress a yawn. 

“Who knows how different things could have turned out if you hadn’t run into them,” she mused.

“I think we would have met again anyway,” Prompto said as he leant back and lay himself on the floor, clearly tired from his filling meal. Amarantha gave him a curious look. “Well, maybe it was like destiny or something?” he half asked.

Amarantha’s gaze fixed itself on me as she gave me a wide grin. 

“Okay, he totally has my approval,” she giggled and I couldn’t help but return her grin. It was strange how much that meant to me. 

Gladio then began to recount the story of our first game of truth or dare as we sat outside the trailer in Hammerhead, and it felt strangely nostalgic to remember it. 

“I remember, we really put Prompto in a tight spot with one of the questions we asked him,” Gladio laughed. “We asked him who he liked more. This mechanic in Hammerhead that he totally had a crush on, or Rena.”

“Who did he pick?” Amarantha asked, looking at Prompto out of the corner of her eye.

“He didn’t,” I interjected. “Noct explained it the best. He was either going to offend me by answering, or he’d be indirectly confessing.”

“Huh, I suppose that’s true,” she mumbled before giving Prompto her full attention. “So, who was it?”

“Huh?”

“Who was it who you liked more?”

Despite that fact that Prompto was undoubtedly my boyfriend, he still blushed as she stared at him. He bit his lip before he managed to stutter out an answer. 

“R-Rena.”

Amarantha could barely contain her excitement as she let out a slight cooing sound. The answer even made me feel a little embarrassed. 

“So you liked her from the start?” she asked.

I could tell that Prompto was starting to feel uncomfortable, but he managed a nod. 

“That’s our Prompto,” Gladio chuckled. “Always falling in love at first sight.”

“Shut up,” Prompto whined. “Besides, I knew her in school, so it wasn’t like she was a stranger.”

“Did you like her in school?” Amarantha asked, and Prompto let out a groan.

“I don’t like this,” he pouted, and I couldn’t help but giggle slightly. I felt sorry for him, but at the same time, I was getting a fair amount of enjoyment out of listening to him talk about me. Once he realised he couldn’t avoid the question, he sighed, nodding again. “I mean, she was really nice to me.”

“You guys are too cute,” Iris suddenly piped up, and our attention was then fixed on her. She’d been strangely quiet throughout the evening. I could imagine that it was somewhat uncomfortable watching someone unashamedly flirting with your brother, but there was more to it than that, I was sure. 

I gave her a warm smile, telling her that I appreciated it. 

Iris was this person that I felt that I wanted to know more about, just so that I could help her smile just a little bit. She seemed as if she felt somewhat empty, and I was almost positive it was to do with the absent prince. I found myself wondering if she’d had a crush on him. If so, it must have been awful, especially since Noct had been going off to marry someone who he genuinely cared for. 

As I thought about it, I was almost positive that was the case, and I felt awful for her. 

After another hour of light conversation, the four of them were about ready to leave. Ignis and Iris would be heading back to the hotel, and it seemed like Amarantha had convinced Gladio to go out for a couple of drinks. I had to hand it to her, she didn’t mess around when she had her sights set on someone. 

Once they’d left, I felt completely drained, and completely ready to crawl into bed and sleep. I could tell that Prompto felt similarly, for as soon as the door was closed, he stretched out his muscles and gave out a huge yawn.

“Did you enjoy dinner?” I asked as I flopped down onto the mattress, not even wanting to move to clean up or get changed for bed. 

“Mhmm,” he nodded. “It was kind of nostalgic eating it again. The last time we had it was before we left for Altissia. I never thought I’d say it, but I kinda miss camping with those guys sometimes.”

“Maybe you’ll get to do it again when you’re out hunting,” I offered, and he nodded again.

“Not like I’ll be making a habit out of spending that much time away from you,” he giggled before he dropped onto the mattress beside me. 

“I’m sure you’ll get yourself distracted from time to time,” I managed to say as I turned towards him and buried my head into the crook of his neck. 

“Maybe, but I think that coming back to you will keep my trips pretty short,” he told me as he gathered me up in his arms.

“I didn’t realise you could be so sentimental,” I joked, and he chuckled slightly. “Not like I’m arguing. Just make sure you come back.”

“Yeah, of course.”

With that, I just let myself be overtaken by the wave of exhaustion and I quickly fell asleep, not even properly positioned on the bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, I went so long without updating. I'm so sorry. I took the weekend off from writing because my boyfriend had a few days off from the army, so that was kind of my priority for a little bit. But I'm back now, getting towards the end of the parts of this story that aren't going to be too interesting so I can start heading into the stuff that I actually want to write soon. I can't wait, haha. Thank you for reading as always, and thank you for the kudos and the comments while I've been away <3


	24. Chapter 24

The months went by in a haze of happiness. As soon as Prompto was back in Lestallum from his trip to Altissia, it was like I couldn’t keep a count of the days that we spent living in our own from of happiness. The nighttime was still as present as it always was, yet the longer that we lived in the dark, the less it seemed to matter. 

True to his word, he began hunting. He’d go out as often as he could in order to get paid. Sometimes it was for menial things, such as scavenging whatever it was that he needed to. Other times it would be to help hunters or people that had gotten themselves into dangerous situations. And then there were the few times that he’d be sent out to get rid of a daemon that was wondering just a little too close to town for comfort. 

It helped that he’d never be gone for too long, and he always seemed to come back no worse for wear. It was rare that I saw so much as a bruise on him. If he was gone for more than a couple of nights, he’d always come back with a small bunch of flowers in hand, as well as a fist full of photographs he’d had printed out. 

At first, I questioned him what they were for.

“You said we should do the scrapbook together, right?” was his cheerful response that seemed to set my heart aflutter. 

So whenever he was gone for more than a few days, we’d settle down on the floor next to each other as we carefully placed the new photos into the book together, every so often writing messages for each other in the book. It somehow became one of my favourite things to do with him. It was fun just to mess around and talk to him as we poured over the memories we’d made together.

It could have only been about four months since he’d returned from Altissia, but it felt like he’d always been there. I’d given him somewhere to stay while he recovered, but even afterwards, neither of us even thought to bring up the prospect of him moving out. Maybe we both wanted each other’s company as if gave us just a little bit more strength so that we could deal with how horribly the world had turned out. 

Things had stayed relatively normal for a long while. Ignis had taken to coming and cook with me as often as he could, though slowly he’d begun to venture outside of the city with Gladio in an attempt to regain some of his prior independence, however slowly it was. Gladio and Amarantha had miraculously started dating after a mere week of knowing each other, which was almost unfortunate as they always seemed to make fun of how long it had taken myself and Prompto to tell each other our feelings. 

Regardless, though, things had settled down into a normal routine of spending time with my friends and working my fingers to the bone at the bar. It was strange how satisfied I felt with how things were going.

On that particular day, I was starting to get a little concerned, however. Prompto had been gone for four days, leaving me to sit in the apartment and wonder about what I was supposed to do. It was the day before Prompto’s 21st birthday, and I’d spent weeks planning what it was that we could do for him, but the more hours that ticked on, the more I figured that he wouldn’t be showing up. At least he’d been texting me when he could, letting me know that he was okay.

I sighed, pulling myself off of the bed and turning the TV off. I must have seen that particular episode of that particular show more than ten times by now and I was starting to get incredibly bored with the small selection of reruns that I had the chance to watch. It was just about time that I needed to get ready for work, so I stumbled to the bathroom in the hopes that a shower would wake me up.

I was really hoping that we’d at least get to celebrate his birthday together, but it wasn’t like I could complain to him. He’d been spending as much time with me as he could, yet he was determined to get stronger for when Noct returned -- something which he was adamant would happen one day. It was hardly something I could deny him. Besides, the thought that Noct would be back one day was enough to keep him happy, and he only rarely ever seemed down about what had taken place on their trip. 

I could tell when he’d been thinking about it too much. It was usually when I was asleep, and he wasn’t. He’d gently shake me back to consciousness and always ask me the same question.

“I’m still me, right?”

I never really understood the question. I never really understood where it came from, or what caused it. I’d always take a few seconds to search for that gentleness that was in his eyes. And it was always there, so I’d nod.

“You’re still you.”

I thought about it as I lathered up the shampoo in my hair, and I wondered if he’d ever tell me what his fears were, and why he needed reminding that he was still himself. 

Eventually, I emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me, not feeling any more awake than I did before. I knew that work was going to be a struggle that evening, but maybe spending my shift with Amarantha would perk me up a little, I thought. 

As I dragged myself to the dresser, I heard a sound behind me that made me pause in my tracks. I clutched the towel closer to my chest and slowly turned around, looking towards the kitchen. 

_ Please be Prompto. Please be Prompto. Please be Prompto. _

I kept thinking that to myself as I approached the kitchen slowly, trying not to make any noise. I peered into the kitchen, and sure enough, there he was, trying to arrange a small set of flowers in the jug. I let out a sigh of relief as I saw him, which seemed to catch his attention more than the bathroom door opening.

“Hey,” he smiled, offering the flowers out towards me, seemingly proud of how he’d arranged them. 

“Don’t ‘hey’ me. You scared me,” I pouted. Still, in spite of that, I was still happy to see him, and I pushed past the flowers he was holding out towards me, wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug. He span me around just a little bit so he could place the jug safely on the countertop before returning the gesture, and planting a small kiss on my forehead.

“I think I’m getting some mixed messages here,” he chuckled. “Are you mad at me or are we good?”

“We’re good. Only because it’s your birthday tomorrow. Otherwise I’d be mad at you.”

“You remembered, huh?”

“Obviously I remembered. I’m your girlfriend. That’s like, the first thing I should remember.”

“So did you plan anything for us to do tomorrow?” he asked as he finally peeled me away to look at me with a quizzical raised eyebrow. 

“Maybe. Maybe not.” I couldn’t help but give him a sly smirk, which told him all he needed to know. “I have to get ready for work though.”

“Do you have tomorrow off?”

“Yup. I think I need it, I’m just so tired lately.”

“So it’s not for any other reason?”

“Hmm. Couldn’t tell you that.”

As soon as I entered the bar, I could see Gladio sat at the bar looking somewhat troubled. It had been a good couple of weeks since I’d seen him, and I still had a few minutes before I needed to start my shift, so I took a seat next to him and gave him a small smile.

“Doing okay there, big guy?”

“Oh. Hi,” he said with a sigh. “I suppose I’m okay.”

“You suppose? Everything okay with you and Amarantha?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine on that front. It’s work stuff,” he mumbled before taking a large gulp of the beer that was sat in front of him. “Be careful when you’re out by yourself, alright?”

“Uhm, why?” I couldn’t help but feel somewhat unnerved by his strange and vague warning.

“A couple of people have gone missing. At the minute it feels like we’re just brushing it off as people getting fed up and wandering off to their deaths voluntarily. I don’t buy it though,” he muttered, gaze set on his glass. “So just be careful, alright?”

I could only nod at him, unsure of what to say. The idea that people were starting to go missing was actually rather scary when I thought about it. I slid out of the seat and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before heading towards the locker room. 

My shift began to pass by uneventfully. Prompto had joined Gladio at some point during the evening as they drank together, though both of them seemed as if they were trying to figure out exactly what had been happening with the missing people. I couldn’t exactly blame them. The thought was troubling. 

It was then that the door opened, and I folded my hands, bowing slightly to the figure that made his way inside. He looked strange, almost flamboyant as he took his hat off and gave me a small smirk at the sight of me bowing. 

“Good evening, sir,” I told him, smiling at him as wide as my energy would allow. “Are you eating today, or are you just here for a few drinks?”

“Hmm,” he considered as he looked around. “I suppose that I will eat,” he spoke, his voice a long and refined drawl. 

“Excellent. I have a table that’s perfect for you, if you’ll follow me,” I said, bowing my head slightly again before plucking up a menu and walking towards a table that was close enough to the bar, just on the edge of the tables. I figured that he’d rather be seated away from the loud groups of drunken regulars that were enjoying what they could of the evening. 

As he sat himself down, placing his hat on the table and taking the menu from me, he took a few more seconds to look around before his gaze landed on me. For some reason, it made me feel uncomfortable as he looked at me with his hazel eyes. It was then that he chuckled slightly, as if I’d done something amusing.

“How charming,” he mused. “Tell me, do you have a boyfriend?” 

“Uhm, I do,” I said cautiously. 

“I believe he’s on his way here now,” he said, raising an eyebrow to something behind me. Before I even had the chance to look, Prompto was stepping in front of me, almost like he was trying to use himself as a barrier between me and the suspicious man who was sat at the table.

“Why are you here?” Prompto asked, trying to remain calm, but I could tell he was absolutely brimming with anger. It was an emotion that I never really saw from Prompto. Before I even had the chance to register what was happening, Gladio was at his side. That was when I realised that whoever this man was, he almost certainly had history with the two. 

“I’m just here to enjoy the sights of Lestallum for the evening,” he said as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world. He looked at me again as I was almost hidden behind Prompto and let out a small laugh. “I must say, I’m not disappointed.”

Prompto knew just as well as I did that he was staring at me as he spoke, and that was enough to make him snap. Suddenly, as if out of thin air, a gun appeared in his hand and he was quick to point it at the man. Things were escalating far too quickly, and I quickly looked to Gladio who didn’t seem to see a problem with what was happening. He just let Prompto point his weapon at the stranger, and I had no idea what to do. 

“Leave her out of this,” Prompto bit out. The man looked as if he felt more offended than he did threatened as he sighed, turning his gaze back to the menu in his hand. The atmosphere around us had stilled completely, the silence uncomfortable and almost palpable. 

“Are you responsible for the people going missing?” Gladio suddenly asked, his nostrils flared as if he was furious. 

The man snapped the menu shut, looking to the large figure that was hovering over him. 

“My dear boy, you should know that I don’t concern myself with such trivial matters,” he chuckled. 

It was then that I heard a pair of footsteps approaching us, and I turned to see my boss approaching, Amarantha at his side looking almost petrified.

“What’s going on?” my boss asked, looking between the three. He didn’t seem at all cautious, but more concerned as to why Prompto was holding one of his customers at gunpoint. No one said anything. Prompto’s breath was short and shallow as he looked at the man with absolute hatred in his eyes. 

“C’mon, Prompto,” Gladio suddenly grumbled in a low voice, clearly trying to hide anger of his own. “You know that firing that thing isn’t going to do anything.”

After a few tense seconds of just watching him, noticing how his gun toting hand was quivering, it disappeared as quickly as it came, vanishing into the air. 

“Sorry for causing you trouble, Boss,” Prompto muttered before giving the man one last venomous glare, then, spinning on his heel and stalking out of the door. The atmosphere was tense as Gladio didn’t break his gaze on the stranger. I looked to my boss with pleading eyes, and it was almost like he read my thoughts as he crossed his arm over his chest. He gestured to the door with his chin, telling me that I should go to Prompto, and with a quick nod, I bolted out of the door. 

He hadn’t gotten very far down the road towards our apartment, but I could see that he was clearly upset as he seemed to be pulling at the back of his hair, kicking the ground as he walked. I picked my pace up to run to him, and he spun around to stare at me, almost as if he didn’t trust me for those few seconds. As I approached him, he backed away, glaring at me.

“What’s your name?” he asked, his tone still sharp.

“What?” I asked, almost in disbelief.

“Just tell me what your name is,” he said, his voice wavering slightly.

“Rena,” I answered cautiously, frowning towards him. 

“How long have you been my girlfriend?”

His questions were almost hurtful, and I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong with him. I managed to bite back my emotions and answer him.

“About six months. You asked me to be your girlfriend the day you left to go to Altissia. It was early in the morning, and you gave me a scrapbook that we add photos to together.”

With a large exhale of air, he approached me and enveloped me in his arms. I could feel his heart pounding through his chest and it didn’t seem to be slowing down for anything. 

“I’m sorry,” he finally said, his voice shaking. 

“I’m really confused,” I admitted. “Like,  _ really  _ confused.”

He pulled away from me, and I could tell that he felt conflicted about explaining the situation to me. Like he didn’t want to get me involved in any kind of capacity.

“That man…” he started, looking around as if he was searching for the right words. “His name is Ardyn. He… isn’t a good person.”

“What did he do to you?” I found myself asking. 

Prompto bit his lip, looking like he was remembering something painful that he would have rather forgotten about completely. By the time he answered, he was shaking his head as he spoke.

“He can make people appear… differently. When Noct was trying his hardest to kill me, I know he couldn’t see me. He could only see Ardyn. He was the one who forced Noct to push me,” he explained, but his words didn’t feel as if they made any sense. His words were laden in this tone that was between angry and sad. “He’s the reason that I got separated from everyone. He’s the reason Noct is gone. He’s the reason for this stupid night that never ends. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The bastard’s immortal. I could have shot him in there and he would have just laughed it off like it was nothing.”

He was clenching his fists together as he spoke, clearly not sure what he was supposed to do with all this pent up anger in him. 

“I have to go back,” I told him firmly, and he looked at me with this abject terror on his face.

“Why?”

“Because if he is as dangerous as you seem to think, I have to at least make sure my boss knows, and that Amarantha is alright.”

“Then I’m going with you.”

“No. You’re not. You’re going to go home, and you’re going to wait for me there. I get why you did what you did, but I have to deal with the consequences of that. You being there is not going to do me any favours right now,” I sighed. His shoulders slumped at my words, and I realised that they were probably a little too harsh. I gave him a small smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. “I love you,” I reminded him, and he let out a sigh of relief, as if it had helped him.

“Yeah, I love you too,” he nodded. “Let me know when you’re leaving work, alright?”

“No sneaking around and looking for your birthday presents. I’ll be mad at you then.”

“I promise,” he said, laughing slightly.

With that, we turned away from each other and went in our separate directions. I quickly returned through the front door of the bar, and it seemed as if things had calmed down somewhat. Gladio was sat on the corner of the bar, not taking his eyes off of Ardyn for the life of him. I was actually kind of surprised that Gladio had managed to keep his cool a little better than Prompto, and I wondered if there was still something that Prompto was keeping from me. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to do, as I looked at Ardyn, sipping on a glass of wine happily as if nothing had happened. 

So I went to find my boss, because that was all I could think to do. I needed to try and explain what had happened, so I took to the back rooms of the bar. I didn’t have to do much searching. He was in his office, feet on the desk and smoking a cigarette as he looked up at the ceiling. He was quick to stub it out as I knocked on the open door. 

“I’m sorry to bother you,” I told him as I entered slowly. 

“Ah, you want to explain what happened, right?” 

He gestured to the seat opposite me and I quickly sat down, nodding at him.

“You don’t need to. Amarantha’s boyfriend explained a few things to me, and it seems that the Chancellor was quite forthcoming with the information I needed.”

“Chancellor?” I asked, tilting my head.

“You know? The guy you brought into my bar? He’s the Chancellor of Niflheim.”

For a few seconds I looked at him with wide eyes. 

“I had no idea.”

He sighed, looking at the smouldering cigarette in the ashtray before he picked it back up and lit it again. It seemed the situation was stressful for him, and he seemed to be in a bit of an odd situation that no one could have ever anticipated. With a sigh, I bit my lip, nodding to myself.

“I’ll see to him.”

My boss froze, lighter still flickering slightly. 

“I’m not putting anyone else in danger. I’ll make sure he’s seen to.”

“You’d be doing me a huge favour,” he sighed, almost as if he was admitting defeat. 

“You’re so going to owe me a couple of days off for this,” I joked as I rose up out of the chair. I knew that if Prompto knew what exactly it was that I was doing, he’d be begging me not to, but just maybe if I saw that he had a good evening, he’d leave and have enough pity  not to bother us again. That was the hope at least. 

As I stepped back out into the bar, everything seemed relatively normal. One of my coworkers was belting out one of the most popular songs we had to offer, everyone else had resumed their merriment and drinking and of course Gladio was still staring at Ardyn as if his life depended on it. Perhaps it did, I was unsure. 

Taking in a deep breath of courage, I stepped forwards towards the table, donning the smile that I needed to. I came to stand at the side of the table, and he looked up at me from under his strange coloured hair, an almost suspicious gaze in his eyes. 

“Well, well. I didn’t expect to see you again,” he said, raising his eyebrow towards me. 

“I’m just doing my job,” I told him with a smile. “Speaking of which, is there anything that I can get you?”

“Hm? I’m quite alright. Someone else just took my order,” he informed me. “Why don’t you sit for a moment?”

Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I nodded, sitting across from him, wondering exactly what he wanted from me. I glanced over to Gladio as I lowered myself into the seat, and he was adjusting himself, sitting sideways on the bar stool and leaning over slightly, looking as if he was ready to pounce out of his seat at any minute. 

“What’s your name?” he asked as soon as I was seated.

“Medea,” I told him without skipping a beat. It was the first name that popped into my head other than my own. It was quite possibly dangerous to lie to him, but I didn’t feel comfortable at the idea of telling him the truth. “And you’re Ardyn,” I continued, not giving him a moment to question me.

“Ah, I assume Prompto filled you in on the details,” he said, sipping at his wine, completely unphased. 

“He did, though I’m not all that sure that I understand exactly what it was that happened.”

I came to rest my folded arms on the table, trying to study what I could of his face. The scary thing about him was that he seemed to exude this aura of charisma, almost like he could manipulate anyone if given the chance. I knew I didn’t trust him, and I was sure he was aware of that fact too. 

“How is Prompto nowadays, anyway?” he asked as his fingers traced the top of his wine glass. “He was so much fun to toy with in Niflheim.”

Those words were the ones that made me freeze in place, staring at him. It was like any fear that was bubbling away in me evaporated and it was replaced with this seething anger. I didn’t want to show it. So instead I took a deep breath in, and tilted my head.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, he hasn’t told you?” I shook my head in response. “I’ll give him credit, he doesn’t break easily. He’s stronger than he looks.”

“What did you do to him?”

My words were firm, almost biting as I looked at him, trying my hardest not to let my anger show. It was pointless. He leant forward, chuckling slightly. He laced his fingers together and held his hands in front of his mouth, almost as if he was trying to hide his smile.

“I’m sure he’s told you that I’m able to conjure… illusions, we’ll call them.” I nodded in response. “That’s an incredible power to have when you have someone in your care. Someone tied very closely to the person you loathe the most in all of the world.”

“You’re talking about Noct.”

“Ah, so you know him as well? I’m so sorry that you haven’t seen him in such a long while.”

I leant back, trying to imagine what it was he did to Prompto, but it seemed like both of them were being vague about what had happened. It was seriously starting to piss me off. 

“So, what? You made visions appear? Of Noct, I assume? Or Ignis, or Gladio? And then what? Did you make it seem like his friends hated him, or did you tell him he was burden?”

There was no hiding the anger in my voice, and he seemed to be enjoying it.

“Something to that effect,” he admitted. “But with that being said, our meeting today was purely coincidental. I don’t have any business with any of them anymore,” he tried to reason. 

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I’m a man of my word. Think what you will, but I’m honest enough.”

I sighed, nodding my head, not entirely believing him, but hoping that he’d be on his merry way soon enough. 

“Then why did you come to Lestallum?” I found myself asking. “Surely there’s nothing of interest here to someone like you.”

“Ah, Lestallum does have some fine food, I have to admit. And if there is one simple thing that I enjoy, it’s a good meal.”

“The food here is good. As long as you don’t have amazingly high standards for bar food, that is.”

“I’ll enjoy it while I can. I don’t expect I’ll receive a warm welcome if I was to stop by again,” he chuckled.

“Oh, absolutely not. If I’m to be honest, it’s taking everything I have no to punch you straight in the nose at this moment in time. But I know it wouldn’t do me any good.”

He threw his head back as he laughed, perhaps too amused by my honesty. 

“I have to admit, I quite like you. You don’t seem like you’re all that strong, but you really aren’t that afraid of me, are you?”

“Not really,” I told him, smiling slightly. I couldn’t tell if I was actually scared of him or if all of my energy was being spent on trying to suppress this anger inside of me. Everything within me wanted to go to Prompto and ask if he was alright, but there I was, sat at a table with someone who had at least mentally tortured him. From what I could remember of the state of Prompto when he returned, I assumed it was much more than that. I don’t think I wanted to know the details. 

“How delightful. I will say, Prompto is a lucky man.”

“What gives you that impression?” I asked, genuinely curious. 

“Hm, I think I’ll keep that to myself,” he said, smirking, leaning back as his eyes fixed on something behind me. I turned to see Amarantha balancing a plate in her hands, looking far too cautious as she approached the table. She gingerly placed it in front of him, bowed to him before she scampered away. “You see, she doesn’t impress me because she’s so afraid of me, you know? All I want is a pleasant conversation and it’s just so hard to come by.”

“Well, first, that’s my best friend, so don’t. Secondly, I’d hardly call us talking about how you tortured my boyfriend a pleasant conversation,” I pointed out, causing him to laugh again. 

“You’re quite right. My apologies,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “I’m sorry to have kept you. I’m sure you have things to attend to.”

“Of course. Don’t hesitate to call me over if you need anything,” I said, giving him the most customer pleasing smile I could muster before pushing the chair under the table and walking away. “Oh, and don’t forget the tip.”

He was still chuckling even as I walked away from him, and as soon as I was out of sight, I subtly took to behind the bar to slink over to Gladio who was looking at me with complete confusion. 

“Hey, make sure you take Amarantha home tonight, alright?” I asked him in a mumble, and he frowned in response.

“Why? You think he’s gonna hurt her?”

“No, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Especially if you think that there are some dangerous people about at the minute,” I sighed. “Drink?” He nodded in response and I began to fiddle with a glass behind the bar. It was only then that I realised how much I was shaking, though I couldn’t pinpoint which emotion was causing it. 

“You good?” Gladio asked, and I managed to nod at him, giving him a smile. 

“I’m good. I just want to go home and check on Prompto to be honest,” I admitted. 

“He’s been making me text updates on if you’re okay,” Gladio chuckled. “Was Boss mad at him?”

“I don’t know. I think it should be fine. Prompto spends a fair amount of gil here, so that probably does him a few favours,” I said, placing the glass full of beer in front of him. He placed a few coins on the counter and I quickly took them and tucked them away in the till. 

“You going to be alright getting back?”

“My apartment isn’t as far as Amaratha’s. Besides, if I get freaked out, I can run. I could use the work out,” I joked. 

“At least let Prompto know when you’re on your way back,” he told me, and I nodded before going about my duties, counting down the minutes until I could finally leave. 

It was like the biggest weight off of my shoulders when Ardyn left the bar, a mere tip of his hat his only form of farewell. I could tell that Gladio felt immediately more at ease when his presence was gone. And it wasn’t all bad. Ardyn had left the most generous tip I’d ever received, and I tucked it away in my pocket, making sure that Ardyn’s money would absolutely go towards something for Prompto’s imminent birthday. 

I was more than thankful to have my pay from my boss -- with a little extra thrown in as thanks -- and I was packing up my things and finally getting ready to head home. I quickly text Prompto, telling him I’d be home in about ten minutes before I collected my things and was out of the door.

To my surprise, Prompto was there, waiting for me outside the bar. As soon as he saw me, his face almost lit up, and he pushed himself off of the wall to approach me. The way that he smiled at me was strange as he came to place his hand on my shoulder and wrap his arm around me.

“You certainly took your time,” he said, and immediately I gave him a suspicious glance.

“I thought I told you to go home,” I told him, glaring at him slightly.

“O-oh. I just wanted to see you sooner, I suppose,” he said, chuckling slightly in a way that seemed very unlike him. 

I managed to catch his eyes in the street light, and took a large step away from him, smiling slightly. His eyes showed me that they held this strange aura of confidence that Prompto almost certainly never had. 

“Nice try, Ardyn,” I teased, shaking my head slightly.

“How interesting. Not even Noctis could see through my illusions before,” he said, placing a hand on his chin as he was deep in thought.

“Well, I’m not Noctis. I appreciate the test, though,” I smiled before I started down the street, almost skipping as if I was telling him that I wouldn’t let him get to me. I could hear him chuckle as I left and headed back towards my apartment. It seemed that he had no interest in following me. He was potentially bored of me already, seemingly thinking that he couldn’t get to me as he had Noct or Prompto. 

However, as soon as I was out of his sight, I picked up my pace and almost sprinted back. I wasn’t particularly interested in testing my resolve any further. By the time I was in, I was gasping for breath, and took a minute to try and compose myself as I leant against the front door.

Prompto was looking at me in confusion, controller in his hand, King’s Knight on the TV screen for the umpteenth time. 

“You’re earlier than I thought you’d be,” he smiled, putting the controller down as if he was about to climb off the bed to greet me. Before he even had the chance to move himself at all, I practically threw myself onto him in a tight hug that knocked him back from his sitting position and I landed on top of him. I just wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into the crook of his neck. “You alright?” he asked, not taking too long to lock his arms around me and hug me back. 

“Yeah. I’m just really happy to see you,” I said, nuzzling further into him. I felt him laugh slightly underneath me, kissing the side of my head slightly and he was undoubtedly himself. It was then that I looked up to the clock, seeing that it was just past 1am. I clambered up slightly to grin at him, placing a kiss on his lips for a brief moment. “Happy birthday.”

“Oh, is it that late already?” he chuckled. “Do I get presents yet?”

“Nope. You have to wait until after we’ve slept.”

“You’re really mean sometimes,” he pouted. 

“I promise it’s worth the wait.”

“But you’re still making me wait,” he whined. “Surely since it’s my birthday, I should get like, birthday rights or something.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at him, and for the first time since I’d gotten back, I looked over him again. I could still see these light scars on his face from whatever had happened to him after Altissia. It had been months, but it didn’t seem like they’d be healing any more any time soon. I ran my fingers over the slight scar on his temple as gently as I could. His brilliant blue eyes were locked on me as I did so, and just the warmth and affection from his gaze was enough to make me smile. 

“You know, I really love you,” I said, my small smile turning into a grin. “But still, no. You have to wait until tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2am and I feel like I've been working on this chapter for all of my life. Hopefully some happier things are in the future for this story, but who can say? Thank you for your kudos and comments as usual, they really make my day <3


	25. Chapter 25

I was woken up far too early the next morning as Prompto gently shook me awake, placing kisses on whatever bare skin he could find. I inched my eyes open to look at him, and I could immediately tell that he was excited, unable to hide his grin. 

“What time is it?” I groaned, not feeling quite ready enough to be awake. 

“About 10:30,” he informed me. “Sorry, are you still tired?”

“Mm, I’ll think about it,” I yawned as I forced myself into sitting up, stretching my arms out. My muscles were so sore from the previous days shift, and I was thankful that I had a couple of days off to enjoy Prompto’s birthday. “You want your present, don’t you?” 

He gave me an almost shy smile, telling me that he absolutely did. I clambered out of bed to get to the bottom drawer of my dresser. Inside was a handful of neatly wrapped gifts, but I wanted to save some of them for throughout the day. I reached inside, pulling out one of the gifts and a card before I handed them to him, and perched myself beside him. He almost looked hesitant to open them.

“Y’know, it’s been a really long time since I’ve celebrated my birthday,” he mumbled. “My parents were always busy, so it feels like it’s been forever.”

“Well, I hope you’re ready for a busy day. Ignis and Gladio are going to be here at about midday. They wanted to take you for lunch,” I smiled, leaning over to give him a small kiss on his cheek. I could tell he looked pleased already. “Then I’ll be meeting up with you later.”

“You’re not coming?”

“Nah, I don’t want to intrude on your bro-time,” I joked. “Anyway, open it.” 

He picked the card first, opening it and grinning at the cute drawing of a chocobo on the front. He quickly flicked the front of it open to read the message inside, his grin never disappearing. It wasn’t much, I just wrote that I was happy that we got to spend his birthday together, and I’d probably put far too many kisses inside after my name. He looked up at me, almost looking mischievous. 

“Are these like a coupon?” he giggled, showing me the card and pointing to the x’s. “Do I get to redeem them?”

“Hm. I’m sure that could probably be arranged. But for now, you have to open your present.”

With a smile, he plucked up the package and gave it a squeeze as if he was trying to figure out what was inside. It was another few seconds before he began to tear the paper, and inside was a plush chocobo that I’d found on the market. It looked kind of dopey, but still I thought it was cute. It seemed that Prompto thought the same as his eyes lit up at the sight, and he held it at arm's length as he admired it. 

“This is so cute,” he beamed, and I was thankful that the first gift for him seemed to have been a success. He tugged on my hand, pulling it towards his lips and planted a small kiss on my knuckles. “Thank you.”

“You like it then?”

“Of course! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a chocobo, so this is really awesome,” he grinned. He looked around for a second before he nodded to himself and tucked it in between the pillows. Satisfied with it’s new place, he propped the card up on his bedside table. 

“So, you have like, an hour before Ignis and Gladio are going to be here. What did you want to do? I’ll even let you play King’s Knight and I won’t complain about how bad it is.”

“Woah, it really is like my birthday,” he laughed. “But, I had some more photos for us to put in the book and we didn’t get the chance to do it yesterday. Can we do that?”

“You really want to use your birthday privileges for that?” I giggled, and he nodded. I hauled myself up off of the bed and began to collect things around the room. I got pens and tapes, gathering up the book in my arms as Prompto had briefly left the coziness of the bed to dig through his bag and bring out a small pile of photos. 

With that, we were back in the bed, and as we flicked through the scrapbook, going through all our memories together as we always seemed to. It was strange how nostalgic it was looking through photos that had only been taken months ago. The warm glow of the sunlight made everything seem… happier. Though really, I had to question if that was true. It was moments where I was huddled up in bed with Prompto, playing games or watching movies where I felt truly happy. Even with the sunlight, I hadn’t experienced happiness like that which he gave me. 

Somehow the book had been half filled by the time his birthday rolled around. It was rare that Prompto was ever without his camera. So every time we went somewhere, no matter how mundane it was to us, he’d always make sure to snap a few photos. Strangely, some of my favourites to look over were the mundane and boring things. Photos of me and Ignis working away in the kitchen as he’d try to navigate his way around, or photos of Gladio and Amarantha as they walked down the street together, clearly enjoying each others company. It was times like that which made me realise how much things had changed since I’d left Insomnia. 

My dull life had come to an end, and I finally had people who I cared about; people who I could call my friends. Not to mention the fact that I had the most adorable boyfriend that existed in all of Eos. 

This scrapbook that Prompto had made had perfectly demonstrated how far I’d come. It didn’t seem to just be about the two of us anymore either. It was this book that perfectly captured everything that was important to me. 

As we came to the first empty page, we got to work on the small stack of photos, happily picking out which patterned tapes seemed to fit the most. Every so often we’d come across these photos of me that I hated, and I’d firmly tell him to throw it away and delete all copies that he had of it, and he’d pout, telling me that I just didn’t see how pretty I was. 

We’d gotten quite carried away, and just as we finished securing the last photo into the book -- another one of Prompto’s famous selfies of the two of us as we walked around the crowded market -- there was a loud knock at the door that made me jump.

“Oh, I guess they’re here. You should really get ready,” I told him, climbing off of the bed, and padding over to the door. He was quick to scamper out of bed, gathering his clothes from the day before and he ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. As soon as he was out of sight, I pulled the door open to be greeted by Gladio and Ignis. Gladio’s face immediately lit up when he saw me, almost looking relieved. 

“You made it back okay then?”

“Oh, from the bar last night? Yeah. Got a quick workout in too,” I beamed, standing aside so the two of them could enter. “He’s just getting ready. Shouldn’t be too long.”

“So, we’ll see you in like an hour or so at The Surgate’s Beanmine, right?” Ignis asked as the two made their way over to the couch to sit down for a few minutes while Prompto busied himself with his hair. Probably.

“That should be about right,” I smiled, folding my arms across my chest. I wondered if they thought that I was lazy for still being in my pyjamas at midday, but at least Ignis couldn’t see me to judge. “I have a fair amount of stuff I want to get done before I meet up with you guys, but hopefully it won’t be much longer than an hour. If it is, I hope you’re alright to keep him busy for a little bit.”

“Shouldn’t be too difficult,” Gladio quipped. “I mean, Prompto can talk for days about completely nothing.” 

I couldn’t help but giggle slightly as Prompto poked his head of the door, hair half way done, pout on his face.

“You suck, Gladio.”

Once the three were out of my apartment around ten minutes later, on their way to lunch, I made myself busy in the kitchen. I’d been pouring over cake recipes for what felt like forever, and it was finally time to test myself on what I’d learnt. 

The first attempt was only a slight disaster as I’d heated the oven up just a little too much and it had sank in the middle too much to be passable. With attempt number one in the bin, I sighed and started from scratch. I’d never had to make a cake for anyone before, but it seemed obvious that since it was his birthday, it was an essential to making it a good day. 

As it turned out, I was a terrible baker. The second attempt came out potentially even worse, and I was rapidly running out of time to get it right. As I looked at the clock, and my second attempt as it sat there in it’s unappealing form, I almost wanted to cry. I’d long run out of time, already running late and I hadn’t even got dressed yet.

I shook off the thought, deciding that I’d just find one at a store later -- though honestly, that was a slim chance at best in Lestallum’s current state -- before I started dashing around the apartment to get ready, leaving the kitchen behind in a state that I’d think about later. 

I was sprinting towards The Surgate’s Beanmine by the time I’d left, only 15 minutes later than I told Ignis I’d be. 

“Sorry, I’m, late,” I panted out as I came to a stop at their table. Gladio looked amused, while Ignis looked the complete opposite. I placed my hands on my knees and bent over slightly while I caught my breath. “I just got a little behind schedule,” I tried to explain.

“Were you making me a cake?” Prompto beamed as he patted the seat next to him. 

“No. Seriously,” I told him sternly as I flopped into the seat. It seemed that I couldn’t have been too late as Prompto was still happily munching away on a pile of fries. He nudged the plate towards me and gave me a smile. He always seemed to be more than willing to share his food with me, and the small gesture made me smirk a little before I tucked in. “We have like, a minute before we need to go,” I informed Prompto, and he tilted his head as if he was curious.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, obviously. But,” I said, cleaning my hands off of the salt from the fries on my jeans before dipping into my bag. “Present time!” 

I happily presented him another gift and he looked almost surprised. 

“Another one?”

“Yup. I wasn’t just going to get you a chocobo toy for your birthday,” I frowned, and Gladio sniggered from across the table. Carefully, he took the gift from my hands and slowly began to tear the paper off. His eyes widened at the box that slowly came into his view. He’d been going on endlessly for an age about how there was this old RPG that he really wanted to play, but he’d never found a copy of it. And it just so happened that I had managed to find a copy on the market on one of my excursions out without him. It had cost me almost an entire weeks pay, but I just couldn’t help myself. 

He almost shook the box in excitement towards me as he didn’t know what to say. All he could do was make these excited murmurs as he grinned. 

“Where did you get this?” he finally asked, his voice bursting with glee. 

“I have my ways,” I said, giving him a sly smirk. “It’s the one you wanted right?”

He gave me a firm nod before leaning over and placing a small kiss on my cheek. 

“Good, but we have to go, or we’re going to be late.”

“Late for what?”

“I’m still not telling you.”

We left soon afterwards, Ignis and Gladio promising to take care of the bill, and I pulled Prompto along the streets of the city in a light jog towards our destination. Where he was curious, I was almost bursting with excitement at the biggest surprise I had lined up for him. 

It had started out as a customer at the bar, complaining into his drink about what he’d lost when the eternal nighttime came. And somehow, it had spun into me begging him for a favour. Surprisingly, he was more than willing when he’d heard Prompto’s name, and he’d charged me absolutely nothing for it.

As we came to the address, I stopped to catch my breath -- suddenly realising how out of shape I must have been as Prompto seemed no worse for wear -- and I turned to him. His look of curiosity hadn’t changed at all, and considering our location, he looked more confused than before. 

Without saying a word, I knocked on the door. It was hardly ten seconds before the door opened, a familiar face poking out of the gap. He was unmistakable because few people wore a flat cap, and even fewer people styled their facial hair in such a manner. 

“Ah, you finally made it,” he grinned at me, opening the door wider for us to come inside.

“Wiz?” Prompto asked, giving him a frown. 

“It’s been a while,” Wiz grinned, offering his hand towards Prompto for a handshake. 

“I’m glad you’re safe. It really has been a while.”

“Oh, so you two know each other?” I asked, though the answer was obvious.

“Absolutely. This guy and his friends did me a huge favour back at the outpost. Got rid of this behemoth called Deadeye,” Wiz informed me, a certain hint in his voice telling me he was still impressed.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were out doing such things,” I said, giving Prompto a glance out of the corner of my eye. I tugged on Prompto’s hand, leading us into the humble abode of the chocobo keeper. He shut the door behind us and clapped his hands together excitedly. 

“Why don’t you take a seat over there?” he said, motioning towards a somewhat dilapidated couch in his dark living room. We both nodded, taking ourselves over to it and sitting down while Wiz began to busy himself with the best birthday surprise I could offer to Prompto. At this point, I could tell he had a good idea that his favourite creatures were involved as he was almost bouncing in his seat. He didn’t say anything about it though, almost like he’d feel bad if he ruined the surprise. 

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, Prompto looking through the photos on his camera to busy himself, before Wiz popped his head out of a doorway, signalling to me that he was bringing in what we were here to see. 

“Close your eyes for a minute,” I said, turning to Prompto. He was biting back a smile, and I could tell that he had a good idea of what was about to happen, but he nodded and obliged, placing his camera down next to me. 

I turned to give Wiz the signal, and cradled in both of his hands was a rather large baby chocobo, that was looking around the room, almost like it could feel the excitement in the air. Wiz carefully trod over to us before he placed the creature on Prompto’s lap. At the sensation of the weight, I could hear him gasp ever so slightly, as he tried desperately to keep his eyes shut. He was far too adorable. I couldn’t help but reach towards his camera that was sat between us on the sofa. 

“Can I open my eyes yet?” he said, sounding impatient. 

“Just another second,” I giggled, pointing the camera up towards him and quickly snapping a picture of him, eyes scrunched closed as the baby bird looked up at him in a curious manner. Once he heard the slight shutter sound, he grinned, and took it as his signal to open his eyes. 

“Wah, it’s so cute,” he grinned, leaning just a little bit closer to it as if he was trying to take in all of it’s glory. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen a chocobo.”

“I’m sure there are a few more out there,” Wiz piped up as he took a seat on an armchair not too far from us. “I hope so, at least.”

“What happened?” Prompto asked absentmindedly as he began to stroke through the bird's feathers, scritching just under it’s chin, which it seemed immensely pleased by. 

“Just didn’t have the chance to wrangle them all up before we had to leave,” Wiz sighed. “I lost track of most of the chocobos, to be honest. Everything just seemed to happen so suddenly. But I got a few eggs out at the very least. This one was the last one to hatch.”

Prompto nodded in understanding, though it seemed that he had to have a few moments to process that his favourite animals had just been left to wander the wilderness on their own. It was possible that they’d survived, but from what I’d heard of the outside, it seemed unlikely.

“If I ever find any, should I bring them by?” Prompto asked, his attention still fixated on the animal in front of him. He seemed completely enamoured by the small creature in front of him, and it seemed equally as fond of him in return. At some point it had stood up on his lap, albeit wobbly as it found it’s footing, and tried to climb up his stomach as he lounged back into the cushions of the couch. 

“Of course. I don’t know where I’ll keep them, but I’ll figure it out if it should come to that,” Wiz smiled, the look in his face telling us he was grateful. 

After I’d snapped a few photos of Prompto with his new feathered friend, and placed the camera down, he quickly picked it up and plopped it on my lap without giving me a moment to argue. I froze for a minute as it looked at me through it’s glinting, beady eyes. It tilted its head slightly, showing me it was curious and I couldn’t help but giggle. It absolutely reminded me of my blonde companion. 

“Do I get to keep this one?” Prompto grinned as he plucked up his camera and began to get ready to take a few photos. 

“No,” both I and Wiz laughed in response. 

We must have spent another half an hour in Wiz’s house, Prompto happily playing with the chocobo before I felt almost guilty for imposing on Wiz for too much longer. He agreed to let Prompto come and visit whenever he had a bit of spare time, and I promised him a few free drinks at the bar if he stopped by again. With that, we were back out into the streets of Lestallum, and we had a few hours before the next event was going to start.

“You wanna try out your new game?” I asked as we laced our fingers together and began to walk down the street together. “We have a bit of time, and I know you really want to try it,” I beamed, and he nervously cleared his throat. 

“Oh, uhm. Nah. It’s okay.”

“What do you mean? I’m giving you the chance to play video games instead of helping me clean the kitchen,” I pouted. “Did I get you the wrong thing?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that we, uh, don’t have the right console to play it,” he mumbled, almost nervously.

“Oh, you’re kidding, right?” I sighed. “Sorry, I totally didn’t realise.”

“It’s okay! I’m sure we can pick one up sometime! We can take turns playing King’s Knight if you want?” he offered, and I couldn’t help but let out an exasperated groan. 

“Please, find a new game.”

“I haven’t beaten it yet though,” he pouted. “I have to have something to show for myself when Noct gets back.”

“Prompto, you hunt daemons for a living,” I pointed out. “I think that’s a little bit more impressive than beating an unfair video game that literally no one thinks is enjoyable.”

“Hunting daemons is easy in comparison!” he argued. For a game that he really didn’t enjoy, he was rather defensive of it, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. Maybe he simply thought that beating it would feel satisfying if he ever managed it. We talked on the finer points of game design until we were finally home.

He almost skipped through the living room to get to the kitchen to get himself a drink, but he quickly stopped and spun on his heel to grin at me. 

“You  _ did  _ make me a cake,” he beamed. I’d forgotten that I’d left the kitchen in a complete state, the sad excuse for a cake sat on the counter, not even iced. 

“Don’t touch it. It’s really not good,” I told him, rushing forward to try and get to the kitchen to quickly throw it in the bin. He quickly blocked the doorway and pouted. 

“But I want it. Don’t I get like, birthday privileges?” he asked, his face contorting into an almost pitiful look as he stuck out his bottom lip and looked at me with sad eyes. 

I sighed, throwing my hands up. 

“Alright, birthday boy, accept your punishment,” I joked, shaking my head and turning to the dresser for the third and final gift of the day. I pulled the rather large box out of the drawer and placed it on the bed. When I turned back to the kitchen, Prompto had his fist covering his mouth as he chewed his mouthful of cake. I couldn’t help but snigger at him. “Terrible, huh?”

“Yup,” he managed to choke out. 

“Put it in the bin. Please. I don’t feel good about watching you suffer.”

“No,” he stated firmly. “I’m gonna eat it all. You made it for me, so it’s my duty as your boyfriend to eat it.” His voice sounded strained. 

“Well, at least take a break from it for a second. You have your last present of the day,” I said, gesturing to the large box on the bed. 

“Another one?” he said, putting the plate he had down and looking at it cautiously. “It’s big,” he noted, and I nodded, pulling him forward slightly. 

“Open it,” I urged him. He didn’t need telling twice as his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He carefully tore the paper away, and I could see his eyes become wide at the gift in front of him before he looked at me, almost tearful. The present was quickly ignored as he approached me and gathered me up in his arms and gave me a tight hug.

“You got me way too much,” he whined. 

“Why are you complaining? You can play your new game now,” I told him, glancing over to the near perfect condition box that was still lying on the bed. It was a retro console; the exact one he needed to play this RPG that he’d been dying to play.

“I’m not complaining,” he said, pulling back from me to show me his big, goofy grin. He gave me a quick kiss before his attention was focused on the console. “Do you know if it has two controllers? You know, you can play this game with other people.”

“You mean, you’d want to play with me? Even if I’m a liability?” 

“Duh! Of course I’d wanna play it with you. It’ll be something for us to do together rather than you just watching me play King’s Knight,” he teased, and I couldn’t stop myself from giggling at him.

“Well, how about you set it up, and I’ll clean the kitchen quickly?”

He nodded in agreement and I quickly made my way to the kitchen, placing the dirty bowls from my baking attempt in the kitchen and quickly scooping all remnants of the cake into the bin quietly. 

Funnily enough, he never mentioned the loss of his terrible birthday cake once it was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated! I've been so busy this week it's been unreal. Hopefully I should have another chapter out at the weekend. Thanks for your patience, and thank you for reading! <3


	26. Chapter 26

After the failed birthday cake was in the bin, and Prompto’s new console was set up, we settled down onto the bed, both cross legged as we started on our new game. Prompto took the role of the boy, pouting as he was forced to make his character “Prompt” because of the 6-character limit on names. I took the role of the girl, comfortably able to call myself by my own name, safely within the character limit. And the sprite that we found ended up being called ‘Popoi’ as it was the default name and neither of us cared enough to spend a lot of time figuring out a more creative name. 

It was strange how happy he seemed just to be able to play a video game with me where he wasn’t completely pummelling me into the ground with his own skills. I always got a little annoyed when we spent our time together playing games, only for me to be beaten nine times in a row. It wasn’t that I was bad, it was just that Prompto was so much better. 

He’d always claimed it was because he spent so much of his time after school in the arcade with Noct, and he’d joke about how he never seemed to take his princely duties too seriously. 

We spent a good few hours making progress through the Land of Mana before I noticed the time on the clock. It was getting towards 6pm, and I’d arranged one last outing for Prompto’s 21st birthday that we were almost certainly going to be late for if we carried on playing. With a smile, I put my controller down and leant towards him to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“This is way better than King’s Knight,” I grinned, and he laughed in agreement. “But we have to get ready to go out.”

“You gonna tell me where we’re going this time?” he said as he navigated the menus to save the game. Once he’d managed that, he wrapped his arms around me and dragged me back to lying down on the mattress below us. “I’m not gonna let you go until you tell me,” he beamed, hanging on to me just a little bit tighter.

“You’re not making a compelling argument as to why I should tell you,” I hummed, settling my head into the crook of his neck.

“Okay, then I’m not gonna hug you until you told me,” he said as he rolled away onto his back, one of his arms still underneath me as he gave me a mischievous grin. 

“I mean, that’s okay, we need to get ready anyway,” I pointed out, and he pouted at me in response. I couldn’t help but smirk at him as he looked disappointed. “We’re just going out to meet everyone, so we shouldn’t be too late,” I told him.

“I mean, we could be a  _ bit  _ late,” he argued. “I mean, it’s my birthday, and you totally said the kisses on the card were redeemable.” He was still pouting slightly as he looked at me from under his eyelashes. “I counted ‘em and everything.”

“How many were there?”

“Twenty one.”

“Hm, let’s call it fifteen. I think you’ve had about six already,” I said, smiling coyly. 

He pouted again. “Then, can I have one now, and save the rest for later?”

“If that’s what you want, but you have to redeem them today or they’re lost forever,” I joked, but he looked almost hurt by the idea. He rolled back towards me, not giving me a moment to even think as he brought his lips to mine in a light, gentle kiss. He carefully ran his thumb over my cheek as he came to cup my face in his hands. It felt all too brief, but yet it felt like he was telling me thank you for the day that we’d had so far. It felt like through those small, caring gestures, he was pouring in all the affection that he could muster. 

Without lingering for too long, he pulled away, his face looking somewhat soft towards me. He smiled slightly before he rested his forehead against mine. 

“Guess we should get ready, right?” he asked in a hushed voice, and although I wouldn’t have minded keeping him to myself for the evening, I nodded. Neither of us moved for a few moments as we just looked at each other, enjoying each other's presence. That was until I looked at the clock and jumped out of bed, scrambling to collect my clothes for the evening before I bolted into the bathroom. 

I emerged a while later wearing a plain black smock dress, and of course I’d had to take advantage of Prompto’s weakness for knee length socks. I’d taken the time to do my hair in loose curls and apply a layer of make up. It had been a while since I’d done anything more than a basic foundation, eyeliner and the required lipstick for work. I was actually quite pleased with how I looked, and Prompto looked at me with wide eyes as he caught sight of me.

He was just wearing his regular attire from the day, his red vest just barely visible out of the bottom of his black jacket. He looked from me, down to his own clothes and then back to me with a sigh. 

“I feel under dressed,” he said. 

“Maybe I’m just over dressed,” I said reassuringly. “We aren’t going anywhere special. We’re just going out for dinner and I felt like making more of an effort than I usually do.”

“I promise to make more of an effort on your birthday,” he smiled as he rose from his seat on the bed where he’d been playing with his camera. He still held it firmly in his hands as he approached me, holding his camera out, signalling that he wanted to get a photo of the two of us before we left. 

“Better start planning for it,” I warned. “It’s only a couple of months away.”

“How long have you been planning today?” he asked, tilting his head towards me.

“That would be telling,” I said, tapping the side of my nose, signalling that he’d never know. 

After we’d taken our photo together, we quickly left our apartment, hand in hand and headed towards the bar that I worked at. By the time we entered, Ignis, Gladio, Iris and Amarantha were already there, chatting between themselves at one of the larger tables. With a wave towards them, we quickly sat ourselves down at the table, all of them beaming towards the guest of honour. 

“Happy birthday!” they all chimed as he sat down, nodding three times in a row as his way of saying thanks. 

“I guess since we’re here I haven’t been banned from here for what happened yesterday,” Prompto said, laughing nervously. 

“Not yet anyway,” Amarantha joked. “Just gotta wait and see what boss says.”

“Until then, though. Let’s get drinks, though no alcohol for Iris,” I grinned. She pouted a little, which earnt a raised eyebrow from Gladio. 

Once we’d ordered drinks -- and much to my pleasure, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto had ordered the cocktails they’d had at the bar before they’d left Lestallum -- we settled down to our table and Ignis was the one to first pick his glass up and raise it slightly.

“I suppose we should toast to Prompto,” he suggested, and we all made noises of agreement as we picked our own glasses up. Prompto scratched his face awkwardly, as if he didn’t know if he was supposed to join in or not. I nudged him with my shoulder a little, trying to coax him into picking his glass up. 

“To Prompto finally becoming an adult,” Gladio laughed. He managed to pull a chuckle out of the birthday boy, as we all leant in and clinked our glasses together.

“To Prompto!” we all repeated before we started on our drinks. I couldn’t help but feel kind of pleased that I finally got to try one of the many cocktails we had at our bar. For myself I chose Temperance which was a blend of raspberry flavoured vodka, blue  Curaçao and lemonade. I happily sipped on it while conversation seemed to flow around the table. I was quite content just to listen as my friends talked to one another about things that didn’t seem to really matter. 

The evening seemed to be passing by without issue. We all ordered ourselves a meal each, and just as the food was being served up to us, I saw my boss from the other side of the bar, looking towards our table. After a few minutes of looking at us with a conflicted look on his face, his arms folded across his chest, he eventually began to approach us, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous. 

Prompto looked up and caught sight of him approaching us, and under the table he gave my hand a quick squeeze. If it was for his benefit or my own, I couldn’t have know. 

“I didn’t expect to see you two in here on your day off,” he said as he came to stop beside Amarantha. 

“Oh, hey boss,” she said through a mouthful of food. She quickly swallowed her food and looked up at him with a grin. “We’re here celebrating Prompto’s birthday,” she beamed.

He gave a raised eyebrow to Prompto, who tried his best to avert his gaze.

“Happy birthday,” my boss smiled. 

“Thanks,” Prompto mumbled in return. “I’m, uh, a little bit sorry about yesterday.”

“A little bit?”

“I’ve encountered that man before,” Prompto started to explain. “I was worried for Rena. I just got a little carried away.”

My boss folded his arms again, and made a few hums of consideration before nodding.

“Don’t do it again, alright?” he smiled towards Prompto. “I appreciate that you want to protect your girlfriend, but it’s not exactly good for business, y’know?”

“Well, it’s not like I was intending to do it in the first place,” Prompto sighed as he almost pouted, leaning his head into his hands. “But thanks. I won’t.”

“Well, with that out of the way, let me get you a round of drinks. On the house, of course,” the boss offered, and we all beamed at him in appreciation. “Except you. You’re not even old enough to be in here. You can have lemonade,” he said sternly towards Iris before he stalked off in the direction of the bar. 

By the time we’d finished our food and had a good few drinks in us, we were staggering out of the bar, tipsy enough to be laughing at nothing as we poured out onto the street. That was save for Iris and Ignis, of course. One not old enough to drink and one who managed to keep their composure no matter the circumstances. 

It was just past 9pm by the time we were collecting outside.

“We should do something else fun,” Amarantha beamed at us, slurring her words just slightly. “It’d be a shame to waste the rest of the evening.”

“I agree!” Gladio nodded, his voice a little louder than usual. 

We all turned to look at Prompto, and he was nodding in agreement, clearly overjoyed by how his day had turned out. It was easy to see by the grin that was plastered on his face.

“Let’s do something, then,” I smiled, looking at him. 

“I know another bar that’s super fun. We should go there,” Amarantha suggested, and beside us we heard a huff from Iris. 

“It’s no fun being young,” she pouted. 

“I think I’ll be skipping out on whatever escapades you have planned. I don’t think I’m quite ready to be out and about while drinking,” Ignis piped up, clutching onto his cane. He was slowly becoming more and more independent as time went on, and was even out with Gladio and Prompto hunting on a few occasions. But I nodded in understanding, though he couldn’t see it.

“Next time,” I told him. 

“We’ll see about that,” he chuckled. “If you wouldn’t mind helping me back, Iris.”

With a sigh, she turned around and began to walk towards the hotel, Ignis quickly turning and following the sounds of her footsteps as she went. 

“Well, let’s go, shall we?” Amarantha grinned as she linked her arm with mine and began to skip down the street.

Once we made it to the bar, things started to become hazy. We’d paid our entry fee, had stamps on the back of our hands, and all too quickly the four of us were at the bar, knocking back shots as quickly as we could manage. We could barely talk to each other over the loud music that was blaring.

It was a long time since I’d been in such a place. It must have been when I was back in Insomnia, on one of my missions to find comfort in whatever ways I could. Surprisingly, the thought didn’t make me feel as uncomfortable as it used to. Maybe that was the power of being in a proper-for-real-adult relationship. It was like none of that really mattered to me anymore. 

After our third shot of alcohol, I couldn’t help but start to lean on Prompto, letting my head rest on his shoulder slightly. I could feel his shoulder move slightly as if he was giggling slightly, and he wrapped his arm around my waist to give me a tight squeeze. With his free hand, he brought out his phone and began to tap away on the screen with his thumb before he presented it to me. 

He’d written a brief message on the screen, simply asking ‘You okay there?’

I quickly plucked the phone out of his hands and typed a reply. ‘Yeah. I just love you.’

He quickly glanced at the message and I could see a smile immediately spread across his face as he read it. He turned to look at me before leaning in to place a firm kiss on my lips. It was only brief, deciding that he should keep it decent since Amarantha and Gladio were stood just next to us. But he gave me a smile as he took the phone again and wrote me a simple reply.

‘I love you too.’

It was weird how those words from him still gave me butterflies, and this feeling of happiness that I’d never experienced before. And it just seemed to grow with every single passing day. I wasn’t sure that I’d done anything to deserve it, particularly. I wasn’t special, particularly. I was just a barmaid who sang from time to time. I was just a person who had moved from my home city to start a new life. But it was like that didn’t really matter to him. It was like, to him, those things that I thought were normal and dull were the things that made me special.

Once we’d had a few more drinks -- happily provided by Amarantha who felt guilty for not getting Prompto any other kind of gift for his birthday -- we set out to find ourselves a corner to tuck ourselves into as we shouted at each other over the music, more substantial beverages in hand.

We stayed in our small group for a few minutes, sipping at our drinks, laughing between one another. Prompto never let his arm leave my waist as he’d occasionally bring me just that little bit closer to him and give me a little squeeze. The more he drank, the more he did it. 

It continued for a little while until the familiar notes of a song started blaring over the crowd, and my eyes immediately snapped to Amarantha, who was looking at me excitedly. She was quick to reach out for my hand and tug me slightly, giving Prompto a wide grin. 

“Sorry Prompto, I’m stealing her for a bit,” she shouted over the music as she dragged me towards the dancefloor, one hand gripped in mine, the other hand holding her drink up in the air as if she was celebrating the appearance of her favourite song. I couldn’t but giggle at her as she span around to look at me, singing the lyrics at me at the top of her voice, but she was still barely audible over the music. 

The sense and embarrassment had left with the alcohol that was now present in my bloodstream, and as Amarantha sang at me, I couldn’t help but move my hips and shoulders in time with the music, singing back at her. As I did so, she started beaming at me, every so often spinning me around as we danced together. 

The song seemed to be over all too quickly. Amarantha was still beaming at me, a slight film of sweat clinging to her forehead from the humidity. She quickly leant in towards my ear to speak to me. 

“I think the boys might be enjoying the show,” she told me before she leant back, tilting her head in their direction. I couldn’t help but look at Prompto out of the corner of my eye. She absolutely wasn’t wrong. Even from the distance I could see that Prompto was looking at me with wide eyes, a blush staining his cheeks. 

I couldn’t help the smirk that crept onto my face. Just the fact that he was staring at me like nothing else in the world existed made me feel unbelievably pleased. 

“Then we should carry on having fun, right?” I asked her as another song started up, and she nodded, downing the rest of her drink to free up her other hand as the plastic cup was quickly thrown towards the nearest table. Miraculously, it landed on top of the surface as she shot me a thumbs up as if it was exactly what she’d meant to do.

We were getting rather exhausted by the start of our sixth song. We stood opposite each other, rather breathless and unattractively sweaty, laughing at each other slightly. We silently agreed that it was quite enough dancing for now, and we turned to Prompto and Gladio before making our way back towards them. 

It seemed that both of them had been totally enamoured by us over the last fifteen or so minutes. Prompto’s blush was still firmly fixed on his face, and he smirked slightly as we began to approach them. He was quick to scoop me up in his arms as they firmly wrapped around my waist so that he could pull himself closer to me. 

“Wanna go home?” he asked loudly enough so that I could hear him. 

“Why? Do  _ you  _ want to go home?” I asked back, smirking slightly. He just nodded slightly, biting his lip a little to stop his smirk. “How about one more drink for the road?” I asked, and he nodded again. He released me from his arms after pressing a quick kiss to my forehead, and almost instantly he tangled his fingers with my own.

Prompto turned to speak to Gladio and Amarantha and explain that we were leaving, but it seemed that they were completely lost to us as he was pressing his lips against hers in a kiss that was uncaring of their surroundings. Awkwardly, Prompto and I gave each other a knowing look and quietly made our way to the bar, leaving them to themselves. 

After our last drink of the evening, we staggered out of the bar, the weight of the alcohol seeming to hit us both all at once. I quickly sent a text to Amarantha, trying to explain that we were leaving for the evening, but it came out as a jumbled puzzle of letters that had no meaning whatsoever. Still, in my haze, it looked coherent enough, so I sent it off, and tucked my phone in my bag.

Now all we had to do was somehow navigate our way home, and I could tell that Prompto was feeling somewhat impatient. He was tugging me down the street, squinting to try and find familiar landmarks that would tell us where we were. But as the minutes ticked on, it seemed as if we were just getting more and more lost. 

Once we were in an alleyway that was absolutely another dead end, Prompto let out a heaving sigh and scratched the back of his head. 

“Fuck it,” I heard him mumble before he almost out of nowhere pressed me up against the wall, giving himself a brief second to tilt my head up with a few of his fingers under my chin. It was then that his lips were on mine as he was desperately pressing his body up against my own, as if it was something that he’d been holding back for the longest time. As quick as he’d started it, he was deepening the kiss, dipping his tongue into my mouth. It gave me the opportunity to take in the slight taste of rum that was still clinging to him. 

I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around his neck to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere. He took that as his opportunity to dip his hands down slightly, running over the curves of my hips and down to the backs of my thighs to haul me up and hold me up against the wall, pressing himself even further into me. 

It had been months since we’d slept together for the first time, and he’d been eager to learn as much as he could about the things that I enjoyed the most. He’d meticulously studied my reactions to certain actions he’d try, and if they didn’t get the reaction he desired, he’d try something else. It was then that he really started to use his knowledge to his advantage. 

He broke the kiss after a few minutes, giving me a look from under his eyelashes. He was breathless as his brilliant blue eyes caught mine, biting his lip slightly as if he was desperately trying to contain himself. Then, his lips began to make a trail down my neck, and he slightly pulled down the collar of my dress to begin nipping ever so slightly at my collarbone. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I tried to suppress a moan, giving him a frantic pat on the shoulder, telling him to stop. He paused for a minute before he looked up at me, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

“We are not having sex in an alleyway,” I told him sternly. He pouted slightly, but finally eased me back onto the ground. “There is no amount of alcohol that would make me okay with that,” I giggled. 

“Can we please find our way home, then?” he whined as he adjusted his belt slightly. He quickly picked my hand up from my side and pulled me down the street, his pace slightly faster than before.

It was well past midnight by the time we finally found ourselves outside of the apartment. I clumsily attempted to fit the key into the lock as Prompto had positioned himself behind me, shuffling my hair out of the way so that he could pepper kisses on my neck to encourage me slightly, but it only served to make fiddling with the door handle that much more difficult. 

After what felt like a hundred years I finally opened the door and we both tumbled inside. Prompto managed to catch himself on his feet. I, however, was not so fortunate as I went hurtling to the floor, tripping over a pair of shoes that were left in the doorway -- something I’d have to scold Prompto for later if I even remembered, I thought. I managed to catch myself on both of my hands, and I was sure that they’d be sore in the morning. At that moment, I didn’t care so much. He managed to snatch the keys out of the door, kicking it closed with his foot as he quickly knelt down beside me.

“You okay?” he asked, taking a moment to push down the desires that were bubbling up from within him. I could tell that even through his clumsy and drunken demeanor that he was concerned for a few seconds. That was until I looked up at him, grinning. 

“Yup. I’m good,” I told him, scrambling to get myself up off of the floor. He took my hand in his own to help pull me up before we both giggled at each other, amused at how quickly the mood had been lost. 

After the initial had amusement had passed, he brought my hands up to his mouth and placed gentle, caring kisses across my palms in an attempt to make me feel better, and I couldn’t help but smile at him as they spread across my hands and eventually began to work up my wrists. As they reached my forearm, he looked up at me, deciding the skip the rest of my arm and immediately caught my lips in his once again, his hand quickly making it’s way around to the back of my head. It felt like I just melted against him as I clutched onto his shoulders as tightly as I could to try and keep my balance. 

Somehow in one fluid motion, he spun the two of us around and quickly, but carefully walked me backwards until I felt the mattress underneath me. He lowered me down, giving me the chance to move my hands to the back of his head to tangle into his hair as I no longer needed his shoulders to keep myself upright. 

I could only let out these small, needy moans as his tongue caressed my own, his weight pressing on top of me slightly. He eventually pulled away from me, looking at me with his eyes that were brimming with lust, smirking slightly. He gave a small chuckle as he looked at me, tilting his head slightly. 

“What?” I breathed, wondering what he found so amusing. He shook his head slightly, as if he was telling me that he wasn’t laughing at me.

“You’re just so beautiful,” he mumbled, laying another small kiss on my forehead. 

I could feel my cheeks heat up as he looked at me, and I knew there was something he could see in me that I was oblivious to. I could just imagine myself as I lay beneath him, hair messy and makeup smudged from the sweat that had been clinging to my face earlier. But still, he said it with such sincerity that I couldn’t help but believe that he meant it. 

He brought his hand to caress my cheek slightly, still smiling at me. 

“Hey, I have a question,” he said, leaning in slightly to rest his forehead against my own lightly. I hummed slightly, telling him to go ahead. “How much do you love me?”

It was a question he’d asked me before so many times. I knew that this question came from his insecurities that he’d carried with him his whole life. It was like he couldn’t believe that I genuinely cared for him as much as I did. Like he felt like he didn’t deserve it. And every time he asked it, my heart ached just that little bit more.

I smiled at him despite the aching feeling in my chest, leaning up slightly to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. 

“You already know Prompto,” I told him, giving him the most affectionate look I could muster. “It’s a lot, incase you forgot though. Like, a  _ lot _ .”

I wasn’t at my most eloquent that evening, but it seemed like it was enough. 

He beamed at me, moving his hands down my sides, caressing my figure as he went. He gave me a look, and I knew he was asking if it was okay, and I nodded happily. With that, his hand finally found the bare skin between my skirt and my sock, giving the bare flesh a tight squeeze before he began to slowly move the skirt upwards slightly. 

It had happened so slowly that I’d hardly noticed how much more confident he seemed around me nowadays. His hands didn’t shake as much as they used to when he touched me. After what had been several months of exploring each other at nearly every opportunity possible, he knew what it was that he needed to do. And as we spent more time with each other, I found that he didn’t ask how everything was for me nearly as much.

He pushed himself up, and away from me so that he was standing on his feet once again, looking over me. He bit his lip slightly as he did so, taking in a deep breath. He slowly knelt in front of me, his hands delving under my skirt to find the waistband of my underwear and almost expertly pulled them down, working them off of my body and tossing them to the floor. 

I felt a strong anticipation begin to build in my stomach as he planted small, almost innocent kisses along one of my thighs, nudging my skirt further up as he went. Then he quickly switched to the other thigh, giving it equal attention. His eyes flicked up to mine as he adjusted himself. His hands hooked around my legs as he pulled me just a little closer to the edge of the mattress. One of his hands wandered up just enough to flip up my skirt completely, exposing my bare, lower half. One last time, he looked up at me, biting on his lip to try and hide the smirk that was spreading across his face. 

Not giving me another moment to compose myself, he lowered his head down, giving my clit an almost painfully slow lick. He looked up at me again, like he was testing the waters, and I couldn’t help but let out this needy whimper. I could feel him smile against me before he began to slowly draw patterns against me with his tongue. He was testing my patience, and he was entirely doing it on purpose.

“Prompto,” I breathed, just loud enough for him to hear. He paused for a second, pulling away and was back to placing kisses on my thighs. “Please,” I whimpered, feeling as if the coil that had been tightening inside me couldn’t have been wound any further. 

That whimpered plea was all it took for something inside of him to snap completely as he rose from his knees and was almost instantly on top of me, frantically kissing whatever skin he could find until he finally reached my mouth. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t wait anymore,” he mumbled against my lips, breathing heavily. All I could do was nod, telling him that I felt the same. The walk home had been torturous, and neither of us wanted to wait any longer than we had to. As soon as I nodded he was up again, quickly searching through the drawer on the bedside table and taking a minute to get himself ready.

I took the opportunity to reach for the hem of my dress and tug it over my head, throwing it to the floor and positioning myself further up the bed. As soon as I made the move to tug my long socks off, Prompto turned to me and smirked a little, shaking his head.

“Leave them,” he mumbled. I could only giggle and nod slightly as I began to fiddle with the clasp of my bra. My dexterity in my drunken state was not at it’s finest, so after a few seconds, I gave up, flopping down onto the mattress, turning to look at Prompto as he rid himself of the last few pieces of clothes that were clinging to him. 

As soon as his trousers and boxers were kicked to the side, he climbed onto the bed, quickly positioning himself between my legs and leaning himself down slightly to place kisses across my collarbone. I could feel him smile against my skin as I desperately wound my fingers through his hair. 

I could feel his fingers wind their way behind me and attempt to release the clasp that I’d had so much trouble with. Surprisingly, it came undone almost instantly. Forgetting the atmosphere between the two of us for just a moment, he jumped back in surprise, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“I did it!” he yelped excitedly, grinning at me. It was the first time he’d managed to undo my bra without a good few minutes of what could only be described as rigmarole. It was entirely befitting of Prompto to completely ruin the moment, but I couldn’t help but giggle at him as I moved the straps away from my shoulders and threw the garment elsewhere. 

“I’m very proud of you,” I told him, still laughing slightly. 

With that, he was back to nibbling at my collarbone, slowly moving upwards until his lips were on my own again. It was only brief before he pulled away, positioning his length at my entrance. Ever so slowly, he began to push his way inside of me, studying my face to make sure I wasn’t showing a single sign of discomfort. Once he was fully sheathed inside of me, he leant back down to kiss me once again. This time, he moved his lips against my own for a minute or two, as if he was giving me enough time to get used to him inside of me, but I just felt desperate for him to move again. 

Before he did though, he pulled away, resting his forehead on my own, squinting at me as if he was trying to make sure I was in focus.

“I love you,” he mumbled, his voice low and husky. I smiled at him, nodding slightly.

“I love you,” I replied. He placed one last kiss on my lips before he began to move his hips slightly. 

I loved the feeling of just being close to him; revelling in the knowledge that I was the only person in the entirety of Eos that got to experience him in every aspect possible. I could safely say that whenever we were together, it wasn’t just about sex. It wasn’t just about that one, lustful deed. It was more about the connection that we felt with each other. The pleasant feelings that came along with the act were a nice addition though, I couldn’t deny. 

I especially couldn’t deny it when he lifted me up slightly to position himself a little better, suddenly his hips slamming into me with an intense force, the tip of his length hitting the perfect sweet spot inside me. I tried my best to stifle my moans, but they just fell out of my mouth and there was little I could do to stop them. 

I knew that there was no chance that I’d be able to last all that long, far too wound up to try and stave off my imminent climax, but much to my relief, Prompto looked as if he was quickly losing his composure to the feeling as well. His breathing was becoming ragged, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. 

I reached up towards his face, stroking his forehead slightly. He almost collapsed towards me at my small action, his lips on mine, which helped to muffle the sounds that were tumbling out of my mouth against my will. 

His hips didn’t stop moving against my own as he kissed me frantically. He was very, very rapidly sending me to the limit of what I could take, and I think he knew just from how my back was arching up, pressing myself closer to his torso. With a few more thrusts, I couldn’t help but cry out as the coil that had been tightening within me suddenly snapped. It was like for a few seconds I couldn’t see properly as he continued to ram into me, as he fucked me through my orgasm. Then, with a low moan of his own, he stilled, trying to catch his breath. 

We looked at each other, almost in awe for a few seconds until he smiled a little, the exhaustion he felt clear on his face. With one last, chaste kiss, he crawled back, removing himself from me before he fell down onto the mattress beside me and let out a long breath. It took him a little longer than usual to compose himself before he hauled himself up to clean up a little.

I took the opportunity to finally rid myself of the long socks that came up to my thighs and tuck myself under the covers, one hundred percent ready to get to sleep as soon as possible. 

When Prompto returned, he slid under the sheets beside me and was quick to wrap me up in his arms, pressing small kisses to my face as he settled down.

“So did I use up all the kisses I had to redeem?” he chuckled.

“I mean, it’s 1am, so it’s not your birthday anymore,” I mumbled as I planted a small kiss on his neck, settling myself into his embrace. “But I stopped keeping count.”

“Think I could have a few more then?” he asked, leaning back to look at me slightly.

“Hmm,” I hummed, looking up at him sleepily. “Yeah. I suppose so.”

He continued to lean his head down, giving me small, innocent kisses until eventually he noticed just how tired I was. They moved up from my mouth to my forehead until finally I fell asleep, completely content with how the day had gone so well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said the weekend, and technically it's a bank holiday in England today, so it's kinda like the weekend a little bit, right? Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because things are going to start getting a little less fun from the next chapter onward~ 
> 
> ALSO! Thank you so much for 200 kudos! :D


	27. Chapter 27

It was one day in December that I was awoken by Prompto’s phone vibrating across the bedside table. With a grumble, he climbed up onto his elbows and reached for the phone, quickly cancelling the call before he collapsed back into the pillows. With that, I closed my eyes again, desperate to try and get back to sleep. My shift the day before had been hellish and long, and I just wanted to be anything but conscious. 

It was only a few more seconds before his phone began vibrating again. I groaned, burrowing my head under the covers to try and escape the sound.

“Sorry,” Prompto mumbled, cancelling the call again. It was another handful of seconds before it started again, and I glared at Prompto through my sleep filled eyes.

“Answer it. Please for the love of god, answer it,” I begged and with a sigh, he nodded.

“What do you want?” he answered. “It’s so early.” Silence for a few moments before Prompto suddenly jolted up, sitting up in bed. “Wait, you’re serious?”

Suddenly, sleep was the last thing on my mind. I looked at him with concern as he ran a hand through his hair, wiping his face slightly to try and wake himself up.

“Yeah. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said, nodding slightly. He hung up the phone and threw it onto the mattress. He turned to look at me, his eyes slightly puffy, showing that he was still exhausted. “Where did you put my  Crownsguard stuff?” he asked, and I frowned. He hadn’t worn it for months; since he’d returned from Altissia. 

“It’s in one of the drawers, why?” I asked, propping myself up on one elbow to watch him as he began to search through the dresser. He didn’t say anything for a while as he dug through the clothes that were stuffed in there, eventually finding exactly what it was that he needed. 

“Hey, would you hate me if I asked you to get ready to go out, like, now?”

“You’re kinda freaking me out,” I told him, managing to sit up and stretch slightly. “But yeah, I’ll go with you.”

He smiled slightly as he quickly got himself dressed. It had been so long since he’d worn it that it looked almost strange to see him in his Crownsguard garb again. 

Once we were both ready, we were quickly out of the door. It was still early enough that barely anyone was around. Prompto’s hand was clutching mine tightly, and he was biting his lip nervously, looking as if he was completely lost in thought. He pulled me through the market to the diner that sat at the edge, not saying anything the entire time.

Waiting for us, I could see Gladio and Ignis and a figure that I absolutely didn’t know. I felt nervous as we approached them, sitting ourselves in the plastic furniture. The stranger looked up to Prompto, an eyebrow raised towards him.

“You took your time,” he said, his tone completely unamused. It was only at that moment that I noticed that he too was clad in his own Crownsguard attire. 

“I’m sorry. I was asleep,” Prompto admitted in a small voice, only to receive a slightly annoyed sigh in response.

“Who’s this?” he asked, looking to me.

“This is Prompto’s girlfriend, Rena,” Gladio explained. I smiled at him, offering my hand to him. He looked at my hand with a frown before cautiously taking it and giving it a firm shake. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, though the atmosphere was anything but nice. 

“I wouldn’t be so quick to say,” he said, giving me a serious look. “I’m Cor Leonis. Commander of the Crownsguard.” I was suddenly very intimidated by his presence, and I bowed my head slightly as a sign of respect that he seemed all too quick to ignore. “I’m not quite sure why Prompto thought to bring you, but I suppose that you should be here for this conversation.”

He leant forward to reach over for his drink, and he took a long swig before placing his cup back down, giving a look over the men in front of him. 

“So, have you all been hunting? Training?” he asked.

“As much as possible,” Gladio nodded. “Both of these two have been with me as much as they can.”

“Well, I can’t expect the world from Ignis considering the circumstances. I’d rather he stayed safe while he adjusts,” Cor said with a nod.

“I  _ am  _ adjusting, though,” Ignis said firmly, almost defensively. 

“I don’t doubt it. If there’s one thing you’re good at, it’s dealing with anything that’s thrown your way,” Cor nodded, his eyes then falling on Prompto. “And what about you? How often are you out hunting?”

“Uhm, fairly often,” Prompto mumbled. He wasn’t out nearly as much as Gladio was, but he’d be gone at least a couple of days a week. 

“Hmm,” Cor hummed, as if he was thinking. “I’d think that to be an improvement on before. That is, if you aren’t dragging the other hunters down.”

Prompto gripped on my hand tightly under the table, his face screaming that he wanted to say something, but he remained quiet. 

“He’s more dependable than he used to be,” Gladio interjected. 

“Well I was told to focus on self-defense above anything else,” Prompto mumbled, his head hanging low as if he felt ashamed. 

“I’m aware of that,” Cor said, folding his hands on the table and tapping his knuckles slightly. “I just want to know that you’re all prepared for when Noctis returns. Because he will, and he’ll need you all when that day comes.”

He leant back in his chair, looking over the three for a few, long seconds. He looked as if he was deep in thought, especially when he looked to Prompto.

“I’m going back to Hammerhead tomorrow,” he finally declared. “I’d like it if you’d come with me, Prompto.” It felt like time had stopped for a second as we all froze to look at him. “I can help you. Train you so that you’re at your best,” he explained. 

“Just me?” Prompto asked slowly. He got a nod in response. 

Silence followed for a long minute, Gladio’s eyes fixed on the two of us. Ignis, from the other side of the table frowned as he looked blindly in our direction. I could feel a lump begin to form at the back of my throat, but I tried my best to swallow it, knowing that then was not the time to let my emotions bubble up to the surface. 

“It’s just an offer,” Cor said finally, shattering the silence. I half expected Prompto to outright refuse him, but he looked as if he was lost in his thousands of thoughts that must have been swirling around his head. 

“Can I think about it for a little bit?” he asked, his voice small.

Cor shot me a knowing look of sympathy, but nodded. He scraped his chair back, rising from his seat. 

“Of course. I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. Let me know when you’ve made up your mind.”

With that, he nodded to the men in front of him, turned around and walked away. Prompto was silent, still lost in his own head. With a deep breath, I tugged on his hand, trying my best to reach him. He looked up at me, his emotions completely masked.

“We should go back,” I mumbled, and he nodded, rising from his seat. We didn’t even turn to say our farewells to Ignis and Gladio. We just walked straight out of the diner, out of the market and back to our apartment, silence completely consuming us. 

It was only when we were back inside that the gravity of the situation hit me. I sat down on the bed, my shoulders slumping as my hands covered my face. It felt too real to be a dream. I was trying with everything I had within me to keep composed, but it was so difficult. I felt a weight beside me on the mattress, and a familiar hand on my back.

“I think we need to talk,” he said, his voice shaking. 

“You’re going, right?” I croaked. 

There was another few seconds of complete quiet before he sighed.

“I don’t know.” 

I wiped at my eyes, and looked to him. He looked empty, as if he was really confused about what he was supposed to do. 

“I’ve said it before. I’m the weakest of the group. It’s weird, but when we left Insomnia, I was always told that I needed to focus on self-defense. Kind of like I was a liability. But it was supposed to be my job to protect Noct. So I don’t know why they even let me go to be honest. Probably just because he’s my best friend.” He let out a long breath before he chuckled slightly, almost as if he was amused by how weak everyone thought he was. “I was trying to get stronger on my own.”

“Would Cor help you, do you think?” I asked, and he nodded.

“I mean, he’s the Commander. He’s strong. You know, people call him Cor The Immortal because it’s like nothing can kill him,” Prompto informed me. “But I don’t want to leave you.”

He was quick to grab my hand and cradle it in his own. It was usually a gesture that made me feel warm and loved, but on that particular day, it made me feel more guilty than anything else. 

I tried to think back on Medea’s words, and how life was so much better when you let people in. But it was in that moment, as we silently sat on the bed that I realised how much letting people in could really hurt. My heart ached as we sat there. 

He chuckled a humourless laugh and shook his head.

“I honestly don’t know that I can get much stronger on my own. And I don’t know that I can handle being useless when he comes back,” he laughed. 

I knew that this decision wasn’t about me. It wasn’t about him leaving me. It wasn’t that he even wanted to go. It was about him, and his best friend, and whatever was going on in the world that he needed to be ready for.

“Well,” I started, after taking in a long deep breath. “What do you need to do?”

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“For you to carry on living as guilt free as you can, what do you need to do? Do you need to go to Hammerhead and stay with Cor for a while?”

He didn’t nod, but he didn’t shake his head either. He just let out a long breath as he tried to think. He really didn’t seem to be coming to any conclusions. I tapped his hand slightly, which was enough to make him look up at me, his face showing how conflicted he was.

“ _ You _ have to be the one to make the choice. And you can’t base your choice on me. Do you want to let go of Noct, or start searching for him?”

I already knew what the answer was. There wasn’t a question in my mind about what it was. I knew one hundred percent. And it took everything I had to keep myself from bursting into tears.

“What about you?” he asked, his voice low.

“I think that there are more important things at stake here. You believe that Noct could bring back the light, don’t you?” His bottom lip trembled slightly as he looked away from me, focusing on a particular spot on the floor. He gave me a nod in response. I scooted closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. “I mean, it’s not like we’re breaking up, right?” I asked him, laughing slightly to hide the nerves that were eating away at me.

“No. Of course not. That much I know.”

His words were reassuring, so I let out a sigh, nodding a little.

“Then, just come and visit from time to time, okay?” I managed to say before I immediately burst out crying. It was like as soon as I said those words, the realisation hit me. 

He wouldn’t be there nearly every morning to gently wake me up. 

He wouldn’t be at the bar every night, looking at me with proud eyes as I sang.

He wouldn’t be there to play video games with me on our days off.

We wouldn’t be living in each others pockets anymore. 

I wouldn’t be able to make his favourite foods for him in the evening, I wouldn’t be able to cuddle up to him as I fell asleep, and we wouldn’t have days where we looked over our scrapbook of memories and added new photos to it together. 

We wouldn’t even be able to create those memories together anymore. 

It felt like my heart was shattering as I wept, but I couldn’t blame him for any of it. It was something he had to do. I knew he had to go, and it would have been awful of me to try and stop him. 

As he came to the same realisation, he quickly pulled me into a tight hug, grasping me tightly and hiding his face in my shoulder as his shoulders began to shake. We just held each other, quietly sniffing occasionally until after what felt like days, we’d found ourselves lying on the mattress. Neither of us said a word. We just studied each other as if we were trying our best to remember absolutely everything about each other. Eventually, we fell asleep, too tired to continue the day with our lack of sleep and our short time of grief. 

When I eventually woke up a few hours later, Prompto was stood in front of the dresser, transferring a few of his things from it to a backpack that was laying on the floor. For a minute or two I just watched him, trying to keep my composure. Once he’d closed the drawer, he sighed and turned to look at the bed, his face softening somewhat once he saw I was awake.

“Hey,” he said, shifting himself to sit back down next to me. I reached over to tangle his fingers with mine, giving him a tight squeeze.

“Hey,” I replied through my croaky voice. I couldn’t bring myself to smile at him, and instead let out a long sigh. 

“You know, we’ve nearly completed that game you bought me for my birthday. We could finish it, if you’d like?” he offered. 

“I have to go and visit work. I’m going to ask if I can have the day off. But as long as I can spend time with you, I don’t really care what it is that we do,” I told him with a humourless laugh. 

“I needed to do a little shopping anyway,” he said, trying his best to smile. “That and I need to go and see Gladio and Ignis before…” he trailed off. “Well, I need to go and see them.”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding slightly. I pulled myself off of the bed and stretched out my sore muscles. “I’m gonna go now,” I said, shoving my feet into my boots, still dressed from our early morning venture. I didn’t give him much of a chance to say anything before I quickly collected my keys and left the apartment.

As I began on my way to the bar, I was trying desperately to rid my head of all the thoughts and worries that plagued me. I couldn’t help but think about the day before and how blissfully mundane it had been. I adored spending time with Prompto, even if we’d only watch movies and play games. He’d always manage to make a joke that would make me spit my drink out, or if I was feeling tired, he’d just hold me and stroke patterns into my skin.

I took a few minutes to wonder what things would have been like if it was safe to travel outside the walls of Lestallum. I thought how amazing it would have been to be able to visit all the diners that existed in Lucis, or what it would have been like to go on that trip to Galdin Quay that he’d promised we’d go on.

I was happy that I’d gotten to spend the time with him, basically living together as we became used to the darkness that was always around us. But at the same time, I felt bitter that I wasn’t just that little bit stronger. I felt angry at myself that I’d never thought to learn how to fight so that I could be alongside him. 

If I went with him to Hammerhead, I’d lose the only place I’d ever thought of as a home, and I was sure that I’d absolutely be in the way. Hammerhead wasn’t big by any means, and I wondered how many people were staying there. I wondered if Cidney was still there.

“Hey!” 

A cheerful voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I spun around to see my oblivious best friend bounce towards me, a large grin on her face.

“Hey Amarantha,” I greeted her, my tone not nearly as chirpy as hers. She frowned at me as she came to a stop next to me. 

“What’s up?” 

“Bad day,” I sighed. “Terrible day, actually.”

We started walking alongside each other, clearly both heading towards the bar. 

“You want to talk about it?”

“Prompto’s leaving. That’s about all I want to say about it.”

She paused for a minute, frowning.

“You broke up?” she asked, confusion clear in her voice.

“No. He’s just leaving to go back to Hammerhead to train or something,” I said, trying to brush off the conversation. “So I want to ask boss if I can take the night off since he’s leaving tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? So soon?” she said, her lips contorting into what was supposed to be a comforting smile.

“Yeah. I’m just a mix of emotions at the minute so I just want to take the evening off and spend it with him.”

“I thought it would have been weird if you two had broken up,” she mumbled.

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you two were like, clearly made for each other,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Think about it. You went to school together, completely lost touch, and you just  _ ran into _ each other. That’s some destiny level coincidence, don’t you think?”

I sighed, nodding at her, not particularly in agreement, but more as a sign that I’d understood what she was saying.

“Besides, you know him. He’ll be back before you know it. He doesn’t even like leaving you for a couple of nights to go on hunts. Gladio always talks about how much he complains,” she informed me, smiling slightly as if to reassure me. It managed to pull a small but sincere smile out of me, at the very least.

“I guess I’m just used to having him around, and I have no idea when I’m going to see him again,” I muttered, shoving my hands in my pockets. 

“Yeah, but he will come back. You know that right?”

“Right,” I agreed, but there was this uncertainty that was building at the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t help but feel anxious. 

“It’ll be fine,” she affirmed, and with those words, we fell into an uncomfortable silence as we continued on our way to the bar.

My boss was all too quick to give me the evening off, and I was barely there for five minutes before I was back out of the front door. I made my way home straight away, and by the time I was back, Prompto was gone. I could only assume he was with Ignis and Gladio, and I had no idea how long he’d be. 

It wasn’t the first time I’d been alone in my apartment since he came back by any means, but this time it felt more vacant than usual. Normally, I would have busied myself by doing whatever chores I could find to do, but I absolutely wasn’t in the mood to look at the kitchen, nor was I in the mood to start a load of laundry. 

It took pretty much everything within me to stop myself from crumpling up on the floor and sobbing my heart out. It was then that I sighed, flopping down on the mattress face first. I somehow managed to feel somewhat amused as my thoughts continued to twirl around my head. I never imagined when I was in Insomnia that there would be someone that I depended on so much. 

It felt awful. All that my life was was him and my job. 

I turned around to stare at the ceiling, finding myself enthralled by the patterns that the fairy lights were projecting onto the surface. It felt like I was looking at them for an eternity, internally feeling empty. 

Even when the lock on the door clicked, I didn’t move. I just wondered how long it had been since I’d gotten home. Silently, he made his way inside. I heard him kick his boots off, and his footsteps along the wooden floor before the mattress sank beside me under his weight. He didn’t say anything as he dropped down to lay beside me. 

His hand did find mine, somehow, but I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him, afraid that I’d break if I saw him. I wondered if he was feeling the same, because I got the sense that he, too, was looking at the patterns on the ceiling. 

We must have stayed like that for quite a while before he let out a heavy sigh, and he brought my hand up to his mouth and planted a small kiss on the back of it. 

“I’m sorry,” he finally murmured. 

I just shook my head, squeezing his hand slightly.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” I sighed. 

“You know I want to stay, don’t you?”

I nodded. 

“But you’ll get stronger if you go to Hammerhead. I know. I know that you’re doing the right thing. It just sucks a lot right now.”

He chuckled slightly, and I got the impression that he was giving me a nod of agreement.

“Yeah. It does.”

Finally, he sat up, looking at me for the first time since he’d gotten in. 

“You’re not angry are you?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“No, I’m not. I’m sad, but not angry.” 

“I’m sorry that I made you sad. But I’ll call you every day. Or text you when I can’t. I’ll send you photos when I take a cool shot. I’ll visit you whenever I can, and I promise that I’ll come back for good when I’m stronger, and better.”

“I don’t care about that. Just come back to me safely,” I told him, sitting up to wrap my arms around him as tightly as I could. He somehow managed to pick me up slightly to bring me into his lap, his arms tightly grasping onto my waist. 

“I will. I promise.”

After a few minutes of just holding each other with as much strength as we could muster, he sniffed, and pulled away from me, smiling at me slightly.

“I got you some things,” he said, reaching over the side of the bed slightly, but still holding me on his lap with his other hand. He then handed me a small bag, and gave me a look, telling me to open it. 

With a tiny smirk, I peeked inside. What the bag held was enough to bring a large grin out of me as I pulled it out. It was a chocobo plush, almost the exact same as the one I’d bought him for his birthday.

“What’s this for?” I asked as looked at the small toy in my hands. 

“Something for you to cuddle while I’m not here,” he said simply, placing a kiss on my cheek as he smiled at me. Even despite the situation, my heart felt light and carefree for a few moments. “And then there’s this.”

He shifted slightly to pull something out of the pocket on his Crownsguard vest. He clasped it in his fist before he sighed and placed it in my hand.

“I guess I just want you to wear this so you remember me,” he told me, finally releasing it so that it dropped into my palm.

It was simple pendant; a circular blue stone set into a silver frame. I looked at it in the palm of my hand, and I couldn’t help but admire the way that it sparkled in the light. It was beautiful, I had to admit. I wasn’t sure that I was smiling, more that I was looking at it in awe. He didn’t let the silence sit for too long.

“D-do you like it? Your favourite colour is blue, right?”

“You remembered?”

“Of course I did. I’m your boyfriend. It’s like, my job, right?”

I giggled at him before leaning into him and giving him a lingering, yet innocent kiss.

“Something like that, I suppose.”

I quickly fiddled with the clasp of the silver chain, and brought it around my neck. After a few seconds, the pendant was secured, and I couldn’t help but look at it in my fingers as I admired it. 

“You want to finish our game?” he asked, smiling slightly. 

“Yeah, sure.”

It was a handful of hours later that our RPG journey was finally at it’s end. As the story hit it’s conclusion, I couldn’t help but shed a few tears at how incredible the journey had been. Beside me, Prompto who was sat cross legged on the bed, was biting his lip, his eyes glazed as he watched the screen intently as the credits began to roll. 

The ending wasn’t particularly sad, but it seemed to give us both this sense of finality; it’s end signalling that our time living together was also close to complete. 

“That was way better than King’s Knight,” I sniffed, wiping at my face.

“Yeah, it was,” he agreed, placing the controller down in front of him and falling back into the mattress. “Though I still need to finish it.”

“If I find better games when you’re away, will you play those instead?”

“Man, I lucked out,” he giggled. “I never thought I’d have a girlfriend who’d encourage me to play video games.”

“Just play better ones,” I mumbled, putting both of the controllers on the TV cabinet before I curled up next to him. By the time we’d finished it was late into the evening, and we’d filled up on snacks and drinks through our last play session. It was just as well. I wasn’t particularly in the mood to cook. I nuzzled up to him, breathing in the sweet scent that clung to his skin. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” he said, turning to me to look at me properly. “But I’ll be back. Just make sure you make some time for me so we can talk, okay?”

“Of course. You know when I work, so just don’t call me then.”

“I know,” he smiled, peppering small kisses across my face. I couldn’t help but really, truly appreciate the way that his soft lips felt as they moved across my skin, and I knew that was one of the feelings I’d miss the most. They always felt as if they came with this heavy affection; like every one he gave had meaning. 

“Hey, Prompto?”

“Yeah?” he hummed.

“How much do you love me?”

He looked at me with a frown, almost as if he didn’t understand the question.

“I mean, you ask me all the time. I want to know how much you love me.”

He smiled slightly, brushing a few strands of hair out of my face.

“With all my heart.”

“Okay. Don’t forget that while you’re gone, will you?” I asked, almost fearful of his response.

“As if I could,” he chuckled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's hoping that you all don't hate me for what's going to happen in the future and that I can get back on board with regular writing. I'm starting to think about the end of this long and monstrous story that I've started and I'd really like to get it finished sometime in the next month I think. So I suppose we'll see. Thanks as always for your comments and kudos. Sorry I've been so bad at replying lately, but I promise it'll be the first thing I do when I wake up tomorrow hehe.


	28. Chapter 28

The morning that Prompto left, he woke me up as he always did, peppering kisses across my bare shoulders. For a few brief and blissful moments I forgot about how he’d be leaving to go to Hammerhead, only to have the entire situation crash down on me like a tonne of stones. We spent the morning shrouded in this strange silence as he caressed my body, taking in the details of my curves. 

We’d said our farewells in my apartment. He was insistent that he didn’t want me to see him off, and instead he wanted to say goodbye to me on his own, without the watchful eyes of Cor, or Gladio who was sure to be there. As soon as he was gone, I couldn’t help but just crumple up on the bed and sob until I eventually fell asleep. 

It was a long time before I saw him again. 

He’d kept his promise, and there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t at least send me a text to let me know that he was okay and still thinking about me. It was sweet, and I enjoyed spending whatever time I could talking to him, but it was safe to say that things were different.

It wasn’t long before things became as normal as they could be, but there was still this sinking and aching feeling within me. It was this horrible feeling of loneliness that wasn’t easily fixed by spending time with Amarantha, or Ignis, or Gladio. 

The feeling was only amplified by the fact that I was, for the most part, completely trapped in Lestallum. Whenever Prompto called me, he’d tell me about what adventures he’d been on with Cor, and how they’d ventured outside as part of his training. He’d always have his positive outlook afterwards, as if he’d had the most fun he could possibly have, and he’d laugh about how he felt like he was already stronger.

I’d smile as he spoke, and sound as enthused as I could, but I felt pathetic. I hated that a large part of my happiness depended on this one person who couldn’t be with me. 

It was five months later that I was awoken by my phone vibrating on my bedside table. Sleepily I wiped at my eyes and grabbed for the object, squinting at it to see the photo of Prompto from the chocobo outpost glowing from the screen. I let out a humourless chuckle. It felt like a lifetime ago

“Hey,” I croaked into the phone as I held it up to my ear, my voice still broken from the sleep.

“Hey! Sorry, did I wake you?” 

“A little bit,” I mumbled, but despite that, I was still smiling to myself, happy to hear his voice. “You’re calling me earlier than usual.”

“Yeah. Today’s a special day. Do you remember what it is?”

“Uh. I don’t know? I’m totally going to say it’s because you just woke me up if it’s that special,” I joked as I tried to think. My brain was still refusing to fire on all cylinders. 

“Oh. Maybe I got the date wrong. You’d remember, I’m pretty sure.”

“What is it?” I asked, only to receive a sigh from the other end of the phone. 

“I think it’s our anniversary today,” he mumbled. 

My eyes snapped open as I shuffled out of bed to get to the calendar that was hanging on the wall of the kitchen. 

“You’re right,” I murmured as my finger pressed against the date on the calendar. I’d even had it marked down, hopeful that I might see him. “It’s written down, I’m just way too sleepy. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I probably should have checked that you weren’t working really late yesterday,” he said, sounding somewhat dejected. “You want me to call you later?”

“No, no. We can talk. I just need to make coffee or something while we do,” I said, trying to comfort him slightly. “I take it since you’re calling you can’t come and visit for our anniversary, then?” I half asked, already knowing the answer.

With it being our anniversary, he’d already been gone for five months. He’d left just before Christmas so he’d missed both that and new years, he’d missed my 21st birthday and now he was going to miss our anniversary. I knew it wasn’t his fault, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointment begin to swirl around in my stomach. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled, the guilt he felt evident in his voice. It felt like most of our conversations had at least a handful of apologies in them nowadays. I’d apologise for being so tired, and he’d apologise for not being able to come and see me. 

“It’s okay,” I finally said. “We’ll just have to celebrate when you are here. Though you totally owe me like, a bunch of presents.”

“I know, I know,” he giggled. “And I want you to make hot pot again.”

I laughed lightly. He’d mentioned that he’d wanted hot pot over and over again during our phone calls. I decided against telling him that I’d had all the ingredients in my fridge, somewhat hopeful that he’d be in Lestallum for our anniversary. 

“That could probably be arranged,” I said through a smile. “It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already. I think anyway. I can’t work out if it’s gone by really quickly or if it’s been the longest year of my life.”

“I mean, a year is a year. It goes by at the same pace no matter what,” he pointed out, chuckling slightly. “But yeah, considering most of it has been with no sunlight, it just feels like one really long day to me.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling. But regardless, happy anniversary. Hopefully I’ll get to see you for the next one,” I joked slightly, trying to find optimism in the face of overwhelming disappointment. 

“I promise to make it happen, somehow,” he told me, somewhat confidently. “And we’ll celebrate this one when I come to visit, okay?”

“Any idea on when that’s going to be?” I asked as I filled the kettle and flipped it on. 

“No, not yet,” he sighed. “Cor’s keeping me pretty busy. I don’t usually get longer than a day in between hunts. But I’m getting stronger, I know I am.”

“I don’t doubt it. You have any interesting stories to tell me?” I asked, smiling slightly. 

He began to go into detail about his latest escapade. He described in detail about how he, Cor, and a few other hunters were swarmed by these daemons that looked like sea creatures fused with wizards; mindflayers he called them. He told me about how he didn’t even feel that scared against them, and how easily they seemed to go down nowadays. 

“And then, it was like I got a critical hit or something! It was just like a video game! I like, rolled forwards, aimed my gun and then shot,” he told me enthusiastically, and I could tell that he was aiming a finger outwards as he told me his story, almost recreating it. He made a sound like a gunshot, and then chuckled slightly. “And it just fell over and vanished into nothing. I felt awesome.”

“I almost wish I could have seen you. Though I’m sure you’d just get nervous if I was watching, right?” I giggled, and he hummed as if he was agreeing.

“Well, obviously. I wanna look my coolest in front of you,” he said, and I could tell he was beaming behind the phone. “But seriously, I’ll try and convince Cor to let me get some time to come and visit you soon. It’s not just for you, either. I miss you, so it’ll be a selfish request,” he said, preemptively easing my worries about being a burden.

“I miss you too,” I sighed. “I didn’t think you’d be gone for this long without coming to see me. I would have made more demands otherwise.”

He let out a loud laugh on the other end of the phone, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him as the kettle finished boiling. I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder as I began to fiddle with the coffee container and search for the nearest clean mug. 

“Well, I’ll make it up to you someday, okay?” he said as his laugh came to an end, sincerity in his words. 

“How do you plan to do that?” I asked, giggling slightly.

“Hadn’t thought about it,” he admitted. “But I’ll start.”

We spoke for around half an hour, talking about things that really didn’t matter. It was kind of nice, because usually our conversations were short, and we’d spend the time just catching each other up on what we’d been doing over the last day. Though it did make me miss our days together more than I did before where he’d get excited about getting to a new level in King’s Knight, or he’d endlessly chatter about the things that he liked. 

It was only brought to an end as I was curled up on the couch, clutching onto an empty mug, smiling at the sheer joy that a short conversation could bring to me. There was a knock in the background, followed by some mumbling from the voice that I was sure belonged to Cor.

“I have to go, sweetheart,” he mumbled, almost like he was embarrassed. “Text me when you get back from work, alright? I’ll call you again if I can.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks for making some time for me today,” I told him.

“Anytime. Thanks for waking up to talk to me.”

“No problem. I love you.”

“I love you back,” he said, a hint of a smile in his voice. “Talk to you soon.”

“Yeah,” I managed to breath before there was a hum of acknowledgement and the line went silent.

After the coffee I’d had, I didn’t much feel like going back to bed. I washed up the mug I’d used, and made my bed before I collapsed back onto the couch, looking up at the light on my ceiling. As soon as I started noticing the flecks of paint that were beginning to peel away from the roof, I sighed, and pulled my phone out, flicking through my few contacts before eventually settling on texting Iris and Amarantha in the hopes that they’d humour me and meet me to get something to eat. 

Until they replied, I just laid back on the couch, looking at a whole lot of nothing. I’d already done all the chores I could the day before, but I still felt somewhat lethargic, and really couldn’t be bothered to busy myself by cooking food that I didn’t really want to eat. 

They were both rather quick to respond, saying they’d meet me at the usual place as soon as they could. That was enough to force me off of the couch to get dressed.

Oddly enough, Iris and Amarantha had become somewhat close over the course of Amarantha and Gladio’s relationship. Eventually, it led to Iris being more open with the two of us, and we’d often eat together. I knew deep down that they were humouring me, and keeping me busy. As it turned out, I really seemed to struggle with being on my own. Not that it was a huge surprise to me. I wondered if I’d really changed since Insomnia. 

By the time I reached The Surgate’s Beanmine, the two were already waiting for me, iced tea sat in front of both of them, and a third cup for me. I smiled to them as they saw me, giving them a small wave as I took the empty seat next to Iris.

“Afternoon,” I greeted them as I happily sipped at the tea in front of me, eager for the refreshing taste and temperature. It was another humid day, which by now was no surprise.

“Hey, you doing okay?” Iris asked me. She seemed to smile a lot more as she aged day by day.

“Yeah. Though I was hoping I’d get to see Prompto today, but it looks like he’s still being kept busy,” I said, trying to wave it off, but my words were enough to give Amarantha a frown.

“Why today?” she asked, tilting her head.

“It’s our anniversary,” I mumbled, not really wanting to linger on the point for too long.

“Has it already been that long?” Iris asked.

“Apparently so. I mean, I get that he’s busy, so I’m not angry, but I think I got my hopes up a little too much,” I said, a fake laugh following. 

“C’mon,” Amarantha smiled. “You know that fake laugh stopped working on us a while ago.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I think it’s more for me than it is you,” I told her, nodding slightly as if I was agreeing with myself. “Anyway, it’s just a day, I guess. I mean, when we started dating they left for Altissia almost straight away, so it feels like it’s not really a day we should be celebrating.”

“Yeah,” Iris muttered. “I think I understand what you mean.”

“Why shouldn’t you celebrate it? You two have been through a lot. You’re supposed to celebrate the fact that you’ve stuck it out. It’s not like, a day you have to feel bad about because of how things turned out,” Amarantha explained to me. “Has he called you, at least?” 

“Oh, of course. It’s rare that there’s a day where he doesn’t call,” I smiled. “I guess I wasn’t really anticipating things to be so hard without him.”

“Well, that sort of comes with the territory of being in love,” Amarantha grinned, her tone slightly teasing. “Besides, you got used to him being around pretty much all of the time. I don’t know what I’d do if I went months without seeing Gladio.”

“Gross,” Iris whined. 

“It’s only gross because he’s your brother,” Amarantha laughed. 

“Can we change the subject, please?” Iris finally sighed. “There’s something weird about talking about my brother's love life.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Amarantha giggled. “How about we eat? Then we could go to the market and do some shopping. Might as well make the most of our day.”

Iris and I nodded in agreement, and began to pour over the menu, though I was sure we’d all end up with the same things as usual. 

We found ourselves at the market once we were finished with our meals. We didn’t really have a goal in mind, but there was something fun about perusing the market stalls with my friends. We wandered around looking at the different merchandise on sale, and it was becoming more and more bizarre as time went on. 

It seemed that people were trying their best to sell their few possessions in order to pay for their accommodation. I was fortunate enough to have a job that was safe, and paid well. But there just weren’t enough jobs for the sheer amount of people in the city, and it was not at all helped by the rent prices getting higher and higher as the demand became overwhelming. 

Even though I had a job that paid well, it was just about enough to cover all of my living expenses, and it didn’t really leave me with a lot of spare income to spend on anything else. It wasn’t really something that bothered me all that much, but it was perhaps a factor in the boredom I experienced at home. 

As we looked at the stalls, laughing amongst ourselves at some dumb joke that I’d made, something caught my eye. I stopped and turned to look at it properly. Tucked away on one of the stalls was a small hand carved, hand painted wooden chocobo. Just seeing it made me smile a little, reminding me of my boyfriend. 

Carefully, I picked it up off of the stall, and looked at it closely. It was so cute, and I knew that Prompto would love it. I thought of all the things that decorated my apartment that he’d given me, and I had to wonder if he had many things of his own to make his accommodation feel more like home. I looked up to the stall owner, who was looking at me with slight interest, his arms folded across his chest.

“You make these?” I asked, and he nodded once as an answer. “It’s really awesome. How much do you want for it?” 

He looked surprised for a moment, as if the idea of selling something was foreign to him. It wouldn’t have surprised me, as everyone seemed to be going through a rather rough time. So trinkets and decorations weren’t usually a priority. 

“A hundred gil?” he half asked, sounding open to the idea of bartering with me, but I would have felt somewhat guilty of trying to get him to lessen his price, considering how he could have been struggling. A hundred gil was reasonable enough, so I nodded. 

“Do you have anything to wrap it with? I don’t want it to get broken,” I told him, and he nodded, extending his large hand out to me to take it from me. I handed it to him as I began to dig through my bag to find some loose coins that were rolling around in the bottom of it. I counted them out as he wrapped the small carving up, and it came to exactly 130 gil. A little bit too much for what I was buying, but I figured that if I didn’t care enough to even put it in my purse properly, I didn’t need it. 

He handed me the wrapped up carving in a small paper bag, and I dropped the coins in his hand, nodding to him slightly with a smile before turning to walk away, not giving him a moment to contest the amount I’d given him. I quickly disappeared into the crowd, clutching the paper bag to my chest happily as I caught up with Iris and Amarantha. 

“You find something nice?” Iris asked me, clearly curious about my happy smile.

“Yup. I found something for Prompto. I might ask Gladio if he can take it to him if he ever goes towards Hammerhead again,” I hummed, almost skipping. I paused for a moment. “Maybe I should make him a care package for our anniversary.”

“Hey, that’s a really good idea. I’m pretty sure Gladio was planning on making a trip sometime soon, actually,” Amarantha piped up. “I think we’ve found our mission for today!”

I was incredibly thankful to have my friends who were more than happy to amble around the market with me as I looked at the small ornaments and food that might have survived the journey. I was almost excited to put it all together once I got home. All in all, I spent about five hundred gil on a few bits and pieces. It wasn’t much, but it was about all I could spare, and at the end of it, I’d come out with a few jars of colourful handmade candy, a small handmade blanket and postcard of Galdin Quay. 

I was almost humming with excitement by the time we were leaving the market, skipping along happily before I turned to my friends. I glanced at my phone to check the time.

“I’m going to go home. I have a couple of hours and I want to get started on putting it together,” I grinned, and Amarantha nodded at me. 

“It’s good to see you so excited about something,” she beamed. “I’ll see you at work later, then.”

With that, I quickly turned and began to quickly walk towards my apartment, my arms full of things for the care package that I couldn’t wait to send off to Prompto. As soon as I was home, I clicked the light on, and dumped the things that were in my arms on the bed before I went to the closet to try and found out the nearest box I could find.

It was just a small, plain cardboard box, but it was big enough to work with. I arranged the things in the box to make sure they fit, and although it was snug, it was the perfect size. I took the things out again and began searching around for markers and bits of paper that I could decorate it with.

It was stupid how excited I was about sending something to Prompto. Just the idea of him opening up a box of small gifts for our anniversary made me grin from ear to ear. I could imagine his face when he saw the little wooden carving of the chocobo, or how he’d hum when he enjoyed one of the sweets he was eating. 

I spent a fair amount of time on the box, writing ‘Happy Anniversary’ in my neatest handwriting on the lid, decorating it with these little cut out shapes that I’d made and the patterned tapes he’d left behind that were meant for the scrapbook that had remained untouched since he’d gone to Hammerhead. 

Once it was decorated, I took the postcard of Galdin Quay, and turned it over. I thought for awhile on what I should write. I wanted it to be meaningful, and poignant, but it wasn’t really my forte. I drummed my fingers on the coffee table, pen wiggling in the other hand as I thought. 

Eventually, I ended up writing a message that I thought would give him a smile.

_ Happy anniversary, Sunshine. I hope this box brings a little happiness into your day. I miss you so much, but I know that you’re working towards the day where you can finally keep your promise and take me to Galdin Quay. With all my love, Rena.  _

With the message written, I began to arrange the things that I’d bought for him in the box. I started with the blanket. He always seemed to complain that he was cold at night in Hammerhead when he was trying to get to sleep, so when I’d seen the blanket in the market that was almost the exact same colour as his eyes, I couldn’t help but pick it up. It was surprisingly cheap for how well it was made. It also made for a nice padding for the glass jars that contained the colourful sweets. I folded the blanket slightly over the top of them to try and protect them as best I could. On top of that, I carefully placed the paper bag that contained the carving of the chocobo, next to it, the postcard. I smiled at it, though it felt like something was missing. 

I looked around the room and my eyes fell on the photo that he’d given me as a housewarming gift; the photo from the day that I’d realised that I liked him. I pulled myself up, and padded across the room to retrieve it. I loved the photo so much, but I knew that if I wanted to look at it, there was a copy of it in the scrapbook. 

I took it back to the box, and rearranged it slightly so the postcard was resting on top of the photo frame. I was okay with not having the photo for a little while, knowing that one day, he’d be back, and it could take it’s place on the bedside table once more. 

Just as I was finishing the box up, there was a tap at my door. I looked up to the clock, knowing I had another half an hour before work, but confused at who could be on the other side of the door. I hauled myself up once more and made my way to the door, pulling it open to see Ignis. He smiled slightly as he heard the door open.

“Well this is a nice surprise,” I giggled at him. I stepped aside, and he was listening intently for my footsteps before he took a step into my apartment. Ignis had to be one of the most impressive people I’d ever met. It hadn’t even been a year since he’d lost his vision, but by that point, he was no longer using his cane, and instead he relied heavily on his hearing and intuition. 

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on keeping you or anything like that. I know you have work soon. That’s actually why I’m here.”

“What do you mean?” I asked as I closed the door behind him, heading to my dresser to pull out my uniform. He didn’t make a move to sit down, and instead just stood in the middle of the room. 

“Gladio’s been talking to the hunters again, and it seems there have been another couple of sudden disappearances. Of course, understandably, he’s quite concerned for you, Amarantha and Iris. So I’m here to walk with you to work today,” he told me. 

I sighed, my shoulders feeling heavy.

“How many is that now?”

“Five, I think. He’s just a little on edge, so I’d ask that you humour him and let me walk with you to work while I’m here,” he smiled.

“Of course. Though you say that like you’re planning on leaving Lestallum too,” I chuckled. 

“I’m going to start hunting,” he told me with almost no hesitation. “And yes, I will be fine.”

“I never said I doubted you.”

He chuckled slightly. “Should I sit myself down while you get ready?”

“How do you know I’m not ready?”

“Because if you were, you’d be wearing socks, I think.”

“How is your hearing that good?” I pouted. He’d obviously listened very intently to my footsteps as my bare feet had hit the wood of the floor. 

“You’d be amazed at what losing your eyesight will do for your other senses.”

A couple of days later, Gladio was off on his way to Hammerhead, Ignis left on duty to escort me and Amarantha to and from work for the time being. It made me nervous letting him walk around after midnight on his own when he looked as if he was the easiest target in the world. Amarantha and I had come to the agreement that he’d sleep on one of our couches until it was a little busier outside and we felt better about letting him go back to the hotel in which he resided. 

As we were seeing Gladio off, I handed him the box with strict instructions to give it straight to Prompto, and to be very careful with it. He frowned as he took the box from me, but nodded, carefully placing it on the floor of his truck before he closed the door. 

“It’s a shame you’re working,” Gladio sighed. “I could have taken you to see him.”

“Don’t tell me that,” I pouted. 

“Maybe next time. I don’t think I can deal with much more of his complaining.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, every time I go to see him, he’s  _ always  _ asking about how you are and if you’re really okay and he’ll talk about how jealous he is that I get to see you so often it’s just really  _ annoying _ .”

He sounded almost bitter about it, and I couldn’t help but giggle. 

“Well, next time, then.”

“Next time,” he agreed before his attention was pulled away by his girlfriend. I gave him a small wave before I began to walk back to my apartment, making sure to take the busiest route I possibly could. 

The care package was off towards Prompto, and all I could do was wait for his response to it. I felt almost renewed at the idea of going to visit him next time Gladio was planning a trip to Hammerhead, and I thought about the dozens of things I wanted to see in his new home. I thought about all the hunters that he talked about like they were his new friends, and the interesting, yet terrifying monsters that roamed around the area. 

It was the first time in months that I’d felt on the verge of hopeful. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that this is about as filler as this story is going to get. Thank you for reading, for the comments and for the kudos as always. They really do make my day <3


	29. Chapter 29

A couple of months after I’d sent off the care package -- which Prompto had called me to tell me he loved -- I was at work, my eyelids feeling heavy and my body feeling the exhaustion catching up with me. I’d made far too many mistakes that night. I’d forgotten the words to one song that I sung, I’d prepared the wrong drinks more than once and I’d entirely forgotten to take the order of one of the tables I was supposed to be watching over.

It was at their complaint that I was hauled into the boss's office. He had his feet up on his desk, cigarette lit between his lips as he looked at me, not really knowing what it was that he should do with me. For a while, he just smoked his cigarette looking at me with a large amount of concern.

“I think you need to take a week off,” he finally said after exhaling a large plume of pale smoke. My shoulders slumped at his words. Work was not only something I needed to do to survive, but it was also the only consistent thing I had to take my mind off of Prompto for a little while; Prompto who still had yet to visit. 

“I can’t afford to take a week off,” I muttered, but he shook his head.

“Look, you’ve been doing all the overtime you can do for a long while now, and you need to just rest for a bit. You’re just getting a little less… I don’t know, efficient.”

I sighed, wiping at my tired eyes, almost feeling like I wanted to cry. It was then that I knew that my entire life revolved around short phone calls from my boyfriend and throwing myself into my job. The world as it was was hardly a place to have hobbies as it stood. 

“Don’t worry about money. You can just use your holiday pay if you’d like,” he offered, his tone softening somewhat. “But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t making sure you’re looking after yourself.”

“Alright,” I sighed again. “I’ll take the holiday pay.”

There was little point in arguing with him. He’d already made up his mind, and he wasn’t wrong. I did need some time off, but the idea of it scared me a little. 

“Go on home for today. Be back in a week, and you’ll feel better for it.”

“Alright. I’m sure I’ll thank you for it next week,” I said before I turned out of the office and headed towards the locker room to get my things and head home. 

I sat myself down for a few minutes, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with my time as it was still too early for me to go to bed with my weird sleep schedule, but it was just late enough that there wasn’t much point in starting a load of laundry or doing other chores. 

The first thing I did was call Ignis, telling him not to trouble himself today with walking me home as it was still busy enough outside for me to get home rather safely. He agreed, although he didn’t seem all that pleased about it, and he demanded that I let him know when I was home.  

With that, I collected my coat and headed out of the back door. It had been raining all day, and usually in Lestallum, the rain would come in these thick, dense blobs, but this time, it was fine rain that stung my face as the wind blew. It was miserable. I pulled my coat around me and began on my way home, jogging slightly to make the journey go just a little bit faster.  

Somehow the rain just served to make me feel that little bit more frustrated than I already was. The wind was making me feel so much colder than usual, and I certainly wasn’t used to it after living in the humidity for well over a year.  

I just wanted to get home, have a bath and a cup of tea to warm myself up and curl up in bed for the rest of the week until I felt like I had purpose again. The thought of my job being my only purpose was enough to make me sigh as I finally made it under the cover and out of the wet weather. 

I shook out my hair and dug through my bag for my keys, quickly fitting one into the lock and opening my front door. I couldn’t help but let out an annoyed sigh at the sight of all of my lights that were left on. I must have been in a rush to get out of the apartment and completely forgotten to turn them off. That was an expense I couldn’t particularly afford, but there was little I could do to change it.  

I almost slammed the door shut, and was immediately peeling away the layers of my uniform and leaving them behind me on the floor until I was stood in front of my dresser in just my underwear, searching for a set of clean pyjamas. I made it about as far as finding a t-shirt that was way too big for me, and pulling it over my head, it’s length almost that of a mini-dress before a noise caught my attention.

It was a strange noise that came from my kitchen that sounded like my windows being slid open. I immediately froze, looking around, trying to keep as quiet as I possibly could as I listened. There was someone in my apartment, I was sure of it. Slowly, I reached up to get the scissors that were resting on top of the dresser, and quietly padded over to the kitchen, inching bit by bit, not entirely sure that I felt brave enough to face whatever was in there. I felt especially on edge since it was the first time I’d walked home by myself in weeks.  

Slowly, I peered through the doorway, holding my breath out of fear. 

What I saw made me drop the scissors out of surprise, sending them clattering to the floor. 

Prompto was stood next to the open window in the kitchen, his hands hidden behind his back, biting his lip as if he was nervous. Our eyes locked with each other, and we both froze for a few seconds before the sound of the scissors hitting the floor seemed to spur me to life, and I ran towards him, throwing my arms around his neck and jumping up to wrap my legs around his waist. He was completely prepared for it, somehow. 

One of his arms wrapped around my waist, and the other gripped at my thigh as if to keep me up. It was so sudden that none of it felt real. It felt like a weird exhaustion induced dream, and I had this feeling I was going to wake up in a pile on my kitchen floor. 

But he never seemed to fade away, and it didn’t seem like I was waking up. 

“What are you doing here?” I mumbled into his neck, not wanting to let go of him. I felt him chuckle slightly as he planted a small kiss on my neck.  

“I managed to convince Cor to let me come for a little bit,” he told me, his voice small, like he was nervous. 

As soon as he spoke, it felt a lot more real. His voice didn’t feel distant like it usually did when we talked on the phone, and I could feel the hum of his words as he spoke. I could smell the slight hint of vanilla that clung to his clothes. He was suddenly real and in front of me, and it was so strange. 

“What were you doing in the kitchen?” I asked, pulling away slightly to look at him, but he still kept a tight grip on me, not letting my feet touch the floor. “Were you trying to climb out of the window?” I asked, peering at the window behind him that was wide open, and letting drops of rain hit the tiled floor. 

 “Maybe,” he mumbled, looking off to the side, just so that he wasn’t looking at me. “I was going to come and pick you up from work, but then I heard the door open and I didn’t want you to think I was being weird, so I thought I’d climb out of the window and come to the door again,” he explained quickly, and I couldn’t help but giggle at him. 

 His logic was undeniably odd at times, but it still made me feel this sense of happiness that was bubbling up from within me. 

“You are weird, but that’s okay,” I told him with a wide smile. 

“Why are you back so early?” he asked, looking at me with his tilted head. “I thought you’d be another few hours.” 

“I got sent home from work.”

“Why? Are you okay?” he asked, suddenly looking concerned. He finally let me down so that I could stand on my own two feet again, and he brushed my damp hair out of my eyes so that he could get a better look at my face.  

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been working a bit too much lately,” I admitted, snuggling myself in closer to him. “You came at the right time. I’ve just been given a week off of work.”

“Oh. Right. Great timing,” he said in an unconvincing tone. 

“Do you have something to do with that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow towards him. 

“Maybe, who can say?” he teased, smiling slightly.

“You can,” I pointed out. 

“Yeah, but that’s less fun,” he giggled. “I kinda messed up the surprise though, huh?”

“Nope. Not at all. I’m surprised,” I told him, and he finally gave me that wide, goofy smile that I’d missed so much. “But next time, don’t try and climb out through the window.”

“Okay, noted,” he laughed, looking at me through his beautiful blue eyes. He was quick to fold me up in his arms again, placing small and shy kisses on my forehead. 

“How long are you here for?” I asked. He considered it for a few moments before he answered. 

“Only a couple of days,” he sighed. “But we have a lot of celebrating to do to make up for everything I missed,” he said, the sound of his grin evident in the tone of his voice. 

I felt like I was on cloud nine just from his sudden appearance, but I was suddenly brought back down to earth as he told me he’d only be there for a couple of days. I tried not to let my slight disappointment show. I just wanted to spend time with him as we used to, playing video games, watching movies, just being in each others presence.  

“You’re freezing,” he pointed out after a few seconds of silence. 

“It was raining. I’m not used to it being so cold,” I informed him as I finally pulled back from him to look him in the eyes. “I was planning to go in the bath, but now you’re here I don’t want to.” I could feel the pout on my lips become more prominent as I looked at him, and it seemed to make him smirk a little bit.

“It’s alright. I’m back for a while, so go and take a bath. I don’t want you to get sick while I’m here,” he reasoned, running his hands down my arms slightly. 

Honestly, I was just scared that he’d be gone by the time I was finished. It was only when he was there, in front of me, that I realised I was terrified of him leaving again. It wasn’t something I’d tell him about, because I didn’t want to be a burden to him, nor did I want him to feel guilty. Deep down, I could feel this sense of hatred for myself building. I didn’t want my life to revolve around another person, but his presence felt as if it had been the most healing thing I’d experienced in months.

“You okay? You look really upset,” he said, tilting his head towards me. “I thought you’d be happy to see me,” he mumbled, almost like he was doubting himself for a minute.

“I am happy to see you,” I reassured him. “I’m just tired,” I continued, hoping that he wouldn’t realise that I was lying.

“Then go and take a bath and then you can take a rest,” he smiled, taking a small step back from me as if to will me into the bathroom. 

Despite the mixture of emotions that were swimming through me, I smiled, and nodded before taking a step towards him to close the gap between us. I rolled myself up on my tiptoes and carefully pressed my lips against his. It was only brief, but I felt almost nervous at the idea of kissing him again after so long. 

I could tell that he felt similarly, as his face was stained pink as I pulled away. 

“Welcome home,” I told him, smiling as much as I could muster before I turned away and walked into the bathroom. 

It was frustratingly awkward as we went to sleep the first night he was there. It was like we’d forgotten how to be around each other. It had been nine months since I'd last seen him, and I was sure that it would just take some adjusting to. After I’d gotten out of the bath, we’d both crawled into bed. 

Before, it was almost impossible for us to sleep without being tangled up in each other's arms, and I’d always found that resting my head on his chest was somewhat soothing as I could feel his heartbeat and the slow rise and fall of his breath.  

Now, we were apart, on opposite sides of the bed, both of us feeling uncertain.

Without thinking about it too much, I quickly decided that I could put on one of the many movies that Prompto had bought me on the day that I was sick. It didn’t matter which one, I just wanted to have something to fill the silence. 

So we lay there, not entirely with each other, silently watching the movie until I finally let the exhaustion overtake me and I happily welcomed the blanket of unconsciousness that fell over me. 

The next morning, I was the first one to wake up. The TV screen was still glowing in the dark room, but it was silent save for Prompto’s steady breathing behind me, signalling to me that he was still fast asleep. 

Sometime during the night, we’d forgotten about the awkwardness, or at least been too asleep to recognise it. His arm at some point in the night had wrapped around my waist as his face was burrowed into the back of my neck. Just as it always used to be. It was almost as if our bodies remembered how to be with each other whereas our minds didn’t. 

The feeling made me smile slightly. I laced my fingers through his own, knowing that he’d be quick to spring away from me if he’d had the idea that he was doing something wrong, and settled back into the pillows. I just wanted to appreciate the feeling of his breath on the back of my neck, and the way that his hand gripped onto my stomach as he held me.  

It wasn’t too much longer before he began to make small groaning sounds, telling me he was about to wake up. He burrowed his head further into the back of my neck as if he was trying his best to escape the inevitability of waking up. I wondered if he’d been as exhausted as me from his training with Cor.  

Almost unknowingly, he placed a kiss on the back of my neck as he always used to before he froze, and pulled away slightly. As he did, I turned to look at him, his eyes slightly swollen from the slumber he’d just woken up from. His face immediately began to turn that shade of pink that I’d seen so often before we’d started dating. 

“Uhm, sorry,” he mumbled, his voice broken.  

“What for?” I asked. 

He paused, frowning, as if he wasn’t exactly sure why he was apologising.  

“You don’t need to say sorry,” I told him, smiling slightly, quietly relieved that he seemed to be acting as if he’d never been away until he thought about it too much. I finally let his hand go as I turned properly to face him before I buried my head in the crook of his neck where my head always used to rest.  

He seemed surprised for a moment before I felt him chuckle ever so slightly.

“So you aren’t mad at me?” he suddenly asked.

“Why would I be mad at you?” 

“Because I was away for so long and then just suddenly turned up,” he explained as his hands gripped on to me. He seemed as if he was really fearful. 

“I’m not mad at you,” I reassured him. “I’m actually really, really happy that you’re here.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure,” I smiled. “We only have a couple of days, right?”

He nodded, a half smile on his face as if he was really trying to hide that he felt upset at the idea of having so little time together. 

“So, we have to make the most of it, don’t we?” I asked, and he nodded again.  

“Is there anything you want to do? Though, I bet you’ve done everything there is to do in Lestallum.” 

“Pretty much. There isn’t a lot to do here at the minute,” I explained. “That is aside from eat at The Surgate’s Beanmine and buy things at the market.” 

“You promised me a hot pot,” he mumbled, not exactly looking in my direction. I could tell he felt a little guilty for reminding me, but all I could do was give him a reassuring smile.  

“Then we can go to the market to get the things for a hot pot,” I nodded. “But not right now. I want to stay like this for a little bit,” I said, settling into his arms again and giving a complacent hum.  

“I’m not arguing with that,” he giggled, tightening his grip once again. After a few moments of silence, he chuckled to himself. “It’s still kinda weird, huh?” 

“You being here?” I felt him nod in response to my question. “Yeah. A little bit. You think you can avoid leaving it so long before you come and visit again?”

“I won’t leave it so long again. I mean, I didn’t mean to in the first place, but Cor is pretty relentless when it comes to training,” he admitted, a sigh following.  

“It’ll be worth it, right?” I asked him, and he seemed unsure for a few seconds. 

“I hope so.”

We spent around an hour in bed, just talking to each other about things that didn’t really matter. It was kind of nice. Usually when we spoke it would be for five or ten minutes every day, and we’d catch up on what had happened before he’d be whisked away on another hunt with Cor. 

It was nice to hear him excitedly talk about King’s Knight, and how many awesome photos that he’d taken over the last nine months. Slowly, but surely, we were learning how to exist in the same space again. As I tucked myself into his arms, he’d slowly find bare patches of skin and stroke small circles with his fingertips. 

Eventually, though, we rolled out of bed and started to get ourselves ready for the day, whatever it was that we were planning on doing. The eternal night was something that had really affected day to day life in Lestallum. I was lucky to be alive, and I was thankful for that fact. But Lestallum was dull. There wasn’t a lot of room to go anywhere interesting, so the days became rather boring and repetitive. It was as if everyone was counting down the days until we could leave safely. 

As I thought about what we could do together, I was waiting for the kettle to boil in the kitchen, leaning against the wall, arms folded across my chest as I tried to keep in my unhelpful sighs. 

Maybe a cup of coffee would help me think of  _ anything  _ for us to do. 

As I started pouring the boiling water into my mug, Prompto appeared in the doorway, dressed in his Crownsguard uniform, a small smile adorning his face.

“Hey,” I smiled at him, stirring up my drink.

“Hi,” he said, sounding almost shy. “I, uh, don’t suppose you’d want to say we’re going on a date today?” he half asked. 

I tilted my head towards him, feeling somewhat confused.

“Are you trying to ask me on a date, but trying to be subtle about it?” I asked, frowning slightly. He pursed his lips as he found an interesting spot on the ceiling to look at. He was definitely feeling somewhat insecure about himself after we’d spent so much time apart. It felt as if he believed that we really were starting right from the beginning again.  

Eventually, he nodded, though he wasn’t looking at me still.

“If you want to call eating hot pot together a date, then I’d be pretty happy with that,” I told him cheerfully as I skipped over towards him and threw my arms around his neck in a tight hug, placing a quick kiss on his cheek as I did so. 

I could feel him let out a small chuckle as he wrapped his arms around my waist like he always used to. 

“Okay,” he simply said, confirming our date. His voice was small and unsure, and it made my heart ache just a slight bit.

As we wandered around the market half an hour later, he found himself distracted by all of the small trinkets and pieces of food that were for sale on the stalls. While he was so enthralled, I took the time to get the ingredients for the long promised hot pot that he’d mentioned at least once a week. 

I knew exactly where to go, but the more time that went on since the sunlight disappeared, the more of a premium was added to the produce that was needed. As I handed over the absurd amount of gil that everything cost, it felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. That was enough to guarantee that there would be one bill that I wouldn’t be able to pay on time.

I pushed the thought aside, knowing that at least it would make Prompto happy. That was worth it, I told myself. I’d worry about it later, and beg for a few more hours once my boss allowed me to work again. Or beg my landlord for a little more time to pay my rent. It had to be one of the two, and there was little room for dignity. 

I found that I was lost in my thoughts as I stood in front of the stall, bag full of ingredients in hand, yet just staring at the produce in front of me, not moving. Everything was slowly piling up on me, and I felt like I was just about ready to break. All over spending more money than I had to spend in the first place. 

“Hey.”

Prompto’s voice suddenly snapped me back into reality, and my eyes shot to him. He was carrying a bag of his own things, smiling at me as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I smiled at him, though I knew it wasn’t exactly the most convincing of gestures. 

“I want to go home,” I mumbled before I turned on my heel and began to head towards the exit of the market, feeling desperate to get out of the crowd. I could hear Prompto’s footsteps following closely behind me. 

I knew that he’d quickly noticed that something wasn’t quite right, and he managed to catch my hand to pull me to a stop once we were out of the market. I turned to look at him, still trying my best to smile, but he looked more than a little concerned.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, though he sounded nervous, as if he didn’t want to hear my answer. 

I hummed slightly, nodding. I knew he wasn’t buying it as his grip on my hand loosened just slightly, and I could tell he was trying to swallow a lump in his throat. He seemed to shake his head slightly before he forced himself to smile, grabbing my hand again and pulling me along the street towards the apartment.  

We walked in silence until we finally made it inside, and I busied myself by tucking away the food in the fridge before moving towards the cupboards to find the pot I needed to make dinner in. I could feel Prompto watching me from behind, but it made me feel more uneasy than it used to. 

“Can we talk for a minute?” he finally muttered as I pulled down the pot and began to rinse it out in the sink. It had been a long time since I’d used it. 

I turned to him as I turned the water off, looking at him with a small frown. 

“Is everything alright?” I asked him, and he looked conflicted as soon as I spoke. 

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “ _ Is _ everything alright?”

I looked at him, feeling a little confused at how he’d posed the question. I quickly moved to take the towel from the radiator and dry my hands before facing him properly, wanting to give him my full attention.

“What’s going on?” I asked him. “I don’t want to do this whole thing where we dance around the subject and everyone involved gets really confused and hurt for no reason. So just tell me what’s going on, please.”

My words were stern as I folded my arms across my chest. He wasn’t looking at me, but more at the floor of the kitchen. After chewing on the corner of his lip for a good few seconds, he gave a sigh.

“I just feel weird,” he said, his hand reaching to scratch the back of his head. “I just thought that things would go back to normal really quickly, and they haven’t. I can’t even figure out why you seemed so upset in the market. It’s bugging me.”

I nodded in understanding, giving out a long sigh of my own.

“You’ve been gone for nine months,” I mumbled. “It’s just… been hard, is all,” I explained, letting my arms drop from their defensive position across my chest to my side so that they could tuck themselves away in the pockets of my jeans.  

“I’m sorry. I’m a terrible boyfriend, aren’t I?” he said, chuckling slightly as if he was trying to find the humour in the situation.  

“It’s not that. I don’t want you to think that. I understand why you’re staying in Hammerhead and why you have to do this, and I know it’s probably sucked for you as much as it has for me. I just get lonely and bored. And you’re always talking about all these interesting things you’re doing and all I have to talk about is working, or the few times I go out to eat with Amarantha and Gladio.” 

I didn’t mean to say half of what I said. I didn’t want him to feel guilty because I really did understand that he was working for something that he thought was bigger than himself. 

I half expected him to just stand there and sigh as he registered my words, the other half of me expected him to feel upset at my sudden confession that had been bubbling up for months.

Instead, he just approached me and wrapped me up in his arms, holding me tightly for a long few minutes. I knew that it was partly an apology, and partly he was comforting me. It was then that I noticed how warm he was as I returned the gesture, only having enough room to wrap my arms around his back and grab fistfuls of his jacket.  

“I thought you didn’t want me around anymore,” he eventually mumbled, and I pulled back to look at him, smiling slightly.

“Don’t be an idiot, Prompto.”

He giggled slightly before placing a chaste kiss on my forehead and backing away. 

 “So, hot pot then?”

 I nodded, and returned to cleaning out the pot. 

As I made our food -- which was far too early to be called dinner, and far too late to be called lunch -- he hardly left my side. He was watching intently as I made the broth, and cut the vegetables in the appropriate shapes and sizes. By the time I was placing everything in the pot and heating it up, his chin was resting on my shoulder as he hugged me from behind, still watching carefully. It made moving a little more difficult, but I found it hard to care as feeling his hands on my stomach seemed to get rid of the feeling of loneliness I’d admitted to him. 

Once everything was cooked and served up into our respective bowls, we sat across from each other on the floor, the coffee table in between us. He was all too eager to dig in, and was almost done by the time I’d picked at a few pieces of tofu that were topped with carrots. 

“Hey, do you remember when we were in Old Lestallum?” he suddenly questioned as he took a break from scoffing his food down.

“You took me to the diner there, didn’t you?” I asked, trying to recall back that far. It was a long time since that had happened.

“Yep! And the night before we left, we played a game.”

I looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought as I chewed on a piece of mushroom. 

“Truth or dare without the dare part, right?” I questioned, and he nodded grinning at me.

“We should play it again,” he told me, his smile wide. “You can go first,” he offered, not giving me much of a chance to argue. But it was fine. He could have really asked me anything at any time and I would have been happy to be honest with him, but he always did make everything he could into a game so that it was just a little bit more fun. 

“Okay,” I said as I thought, but I really had no idea what to ask him. “Do you miss me much when you’re in Hammerhead?”

“That’s a waste of a question,” he told me firmly as he pouted slightly. “You know I do. I tell you all the time on the phone.”

I giggled at his response, covering my mouth as I swallowed another mouthful of food. 

“Well, since we’re playing the truth game, I thought it would be a good time to confirm if you were telling the truth or not,” I joked, and he sniggered at me. “Your turn.”

“Hm,” he considered for a moment as he picked at the remaining tofu in his bowl, almost like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to eat it. “You ever thought about getting married?” he asked, and I almost choked on the noodles that were half way down my throat. At my obnoxiously loud gesture, his face turned bright red as he shook his head. “I-I’m not asking you right now or anything. I’m just curious.”

It took me a second to compose myself and swallow my food before I let out a long breath of relief. 

“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve obviously thought about it before, but I don’t know,” I tried to explain, but I was still flustered and fumbling over my words at the suddenness of his question. Although he was still red in the face, he tilted his head as if he was pressing me on. “I’m not opposed to the idea. I just haven’t given it _that_ much thought,” I told him, focusing on my food again. “What about you? You thought about it?” I asked before I scooped a piece of meat into my mouth, excusing me from talking further. 

“Yeah. I’ve thought about it,” he admitted, though he didn’t seem to want to say anymore. “Maybe one day, huh?” he suddenly laughed, smiling wide like he was telling me it was just a dumb question that he shouldn’t have asked. It was quick before his expression turned into something kind of serious again as he looked at me. “I have another question that is similarly not a right now thing,” he said.

“Thanks for the warning,” I smiled.

“You ever thought about, y’know, starting a family one day?” he asked, and I frowned at him. 

“You’re being way more serious than I thought you were going to be,” I said, honestly confused by his questions. “I’ll answer if you tell me why you want to know.”

He sighed, yet at the same time he was smiling, looking over the remnants of his meal.  

“I guess I just want to dream a little bit,” he mumbled. “I want to have something to take back to Hammerhead with me so that I can have a bit of hope for the future.”

I knew he was telling the truth. He’d rarely had things that he couldn’t tell me, but that was the first time he’d really let on that he perhaps wasn’t the happiest when it came to where he was staying. He’d always sounded so upbeat on the phone, making the whole adventure he was on sound like a video game, and like he was leveling up. 

I smiled at him, giving the question some thought before I nodded. 

“I think I would like to start a family of my own one day,” I admitted. “Not right now, and I wouldn’t even think about it until things were safer, but one day, maybe.” 

I tried to make the answer sound as nonchalant as I possibly could as I turned my attention back to my food, but my answer had made Prompto unashamedly beam at me with his wide, goofy and adorable smile. 

“Me too!” he almost yelped in excitement. I couldn’t help but giggle at him, and the thought of him with a mini version of himself made butterflies start to brew at the pit of my stomach. It was a strange and foreign image to me, but at the same time, it did give me just the slightest hint of hope for the future.  

We looked at each other, the both of us smiling, although feeling somewhat shy about the topic that he’d brought up. After a few seconds, he laughed a little. 

“It’s your turn to ask a question,” he prompted, and I thought for a second.

“How badly do you want to play King’s Knight while you’re here?”

“Only a little,” he giggled. “But since I’m not here for long, I’d just rather spend the time with you.”

“You’re cute sometimes,” I told him, leaning over to ruffle his hair slightly. 

“My turn,” he grinned at me. “You want to tell me what happened at the market?”

“Your questions are so serious today,” I noted. “The ingredients for dinner were just a lot more expensive than they used to be,” I sighed, finally getting to the last of the noodles in my bowl. 

“You’re struggling?” he questioned, looking at me, then at the remaining chunks of tofu that were in his bowl. 

“A little, but it’s fine. I just need to see if I can get some more hours when I go back to work,” I told him, smiling to try and reassure him, but he still looked a little concerned. “Things are just a bit more in demand than they used to be, that’s all.” 

Without saying another word, he scooped up the remaining bits of tofu into his mouth and chewed them quickly before swallowing them. I knew he wasn’t the biggest fan of tofu, so I couldn’t help but shake my head at him, smiling, almost like I couldn’t believe what he was doing. 

“You know, if you need any help, you can ask me,” he said once the tofu had been washed away by a long drink of water. “I get paid pretty well for the work I do in Hammerhead and I don’t really have anything I need to spend it on."

“Thanks, but it’s okay. Save it for when you do need it, and I’ll be fine,” I told him sternly. I’d gotten past the initial shock of the price of the food and I felt that I would be okay on my own. Somehow.

“It’s not just an offer for now,” he smiled. “It doesn’t expire.”

“Thanks,” I nodded, finally finished with my food, and with that, the game was over. 

Prompto hauled himself up from the floor, and offered his hand to me to help me up.

“Ooh,” I almost cooed as he pulled me up. “Are you going to be the best boyfriend in Eos and help me wash up?”

He groaned as he rolled his head back, knowing that he didn’t have much of a chance to escape it. 

“Fine,” he sighed. “But first, I want to go somewhere with you.”

“Where?” I asked. “I don’t really have the money to do much.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not going to cost anything,” he smiled as he tugged me towards the front door by my hand. It seemed I had little say in the matter as he pulled me out of the door, scooping up a bag as we went. 

He was quick to pull me through the streets of Lestallum until we ended up close to the lookout where he’d first kissed me. I couldn’t help but smile to myself at the thought of the memory, although it felt like it happened in an entirely different life. I looked to Prompto and could see a hint of a smirk on his face as if he’d remembered the same thing that I had.  

Eventually we came to a stop and he turned to me, presenting the bag to me so that I could peer inside. All it contained was a packet of sparklers and a small box of matches. I looked from them, up to his beaming face as he held the bag at arms length. He was absolutely adorable. 

“You wanted to play with these for a bit?” I asked, and he nodded. 

“It was the first time I’d seen any kind of fireworks for sale, and I got too excited,” he laughed as he eagerly brought the bag back so that he could quickly pull out the packaging. Excitedly he handed them to me, like he was handing me all responsibility. “I thought it would be the perfect thing to bring some light back into our lives.” 

I couldn’t help but snigger at his corny sentiment. 

“Just don’t get too overexcited and hurt yourself,” I joked as I began to open the packet, handing him a singular stick. There were at least 10 in the packet, and I couldn’t imagine that they’d keep him occupied for  _ that  _ long, so I took one out for myself and tucked the packet under my arm. 

He began to fidget with the box of matches, striking one of them before leaning forward to light mine. It took only a second before it started crackling in my hands, sparking into a brilliant white light that almost made me recoil out of surprise. 

But then I could only look at it in awe; it was the most beautiful light I’d seen in over a year. 

I could tell that Prompto was looking at me with a small, loving smile on his face as I just looked at it as it began to slowly fizzle away in my hand. He left me to just stare at it for the better part of a minute before he began to fumble with the box of matches again, striking one to light his own small firework. 

Once his was lit, he discarded the match and grinned at it, waving it around slightly to leave these streaks of light in the night air, almost like he was testing something. His movements became more and more excited as he continued. I’d almost ignored mine entirely as I watched him until it slowly died out into a dull light before there was nothing.  

I still watched Prompto as he drew patterns in the air, but I couldn’t quite decipher what it was that he was doing.  

“Writing anything good?” I asked him, but instead of responding, he just looked at me and winked. I just chuckled at him and watched him until his own sparkler had died.  

“Want to know?” he asked as he discarded his stick into the bag that had previously carried the fireworks to where we stood. I nodded, and he pulled his camera out, wiggling it at me as if I was supposed to know what it meant. He turned it on, beginning to fiddle with the settings on his camera before he moved to place it down on the wall closest to us. Once that was done, he turned to me, beaming smile on his face. “Are you ready to see my amazing photography skills?” 

He didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, he took out another match, and gestured for another one of the sparklers that were tucked under my arm. I handed him one, and quickly, he lit it, pushing the button on his camera before he rushed forward. He faced the camera, still grinning and began drawing his patterns in the air again. He took a minute before the light died down, and he discarded the remnants before skipping over to the camera.  

He plucked it up, and found the image on the screen before beckoning me over to see what magic he’d created. And it _was_ almost like magic that I couldn’t quite comprehend. It was messy, but it was there. 

Sure as anything, the picture was almost completely dark aside from a bright white heart that was painted into the air, sparking in certain places. I could feel my heart begin to well up with this uncontrollable surge of affection towards him. 

“Have I told you how much I love you?” I found myself saying without even thinking about it. He giggled slightly before looking at me.

“I mean, you have. You can tell me again if you’d like, though,” he teased, leaning over to press a kiss to my cheek. I turned slightly as he did so to catch his lips against my own. Every kiss we’d shared on his visit so far had been brief, and careful not to overstep whatever boundaries we’d put up over our time apart. This was the first one that lingered for a few moments, and when it ended, it was quickly replaced with a new one. After a minute or so of these innocent, gentle yet persistent kisses, he pulled away, smiling slightly. 

“You know, I think we’re going to be alright,” he said, his voice small. 

“You just thought that now?” I asked.

He shrugged a little as if he didn’t want to commit to his answer, but I knew that the insecurities that were rooted deep within him had been eating away at him all day, but I struggled to know how to make things better when I felt so unsure myself. 

“I love you, in case you forgot,” he told me with a smile. 

“I didn’t forget. But I’ll take the reminder.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry that it took me so long to update this dang thing. I really struggled to write this chapter for some reason, and I don't think I've ever been so relieved to get something finished. Hopefully it won't be that long until I update again, but hopefully it'll be before I disappear for the rest of my life to play Episode Prompto over and over again. Thanks for your patience! <3


	30. Chapter 30

Time passed by very slowly, but yet it still passed. 

The eternal night only served to make time seem that much slower, but eventually, the years began to tick by. Nothing had really changed. Not really, anyway. Things became more scarce, more in demand from the somehow growing population of Lestallum, one of the few beacons in Lucis. 

Daemons still roamed what was once the countryside, but never wandering too close to our home. I still worked at the bar with Amarantha. I still sang songs to try and lift the spirits of those who were still waning. I still lived in the small and expensive apartment that was my home, and Prompto was still absent, living in Hammerhead and training under Cor. 

He had kept to his word, and he never left it longer than a few months before he would come to visit the city for a weekend, maybe a day or two longer. Every time we would spend the first day adjusting to each others presence again, and every time he would spend a ridiculous amount of gil on ingredients for a hot pot, and come with a handful of photographs from his last trip to fill our scrapbook with. It was like our tradition. 

It did make me happy when I saw him. We’d laugh, and he’d tell me stories that he’d left out of his phone calls, but all it served to do was make me feel that much worse. I was missing out on his life, and he was missing out on mine. It was little comfort to me that it was for the greater good.

As the years moved on, I found myself sighing a lot more than I used to. 

Though on that particular day, as I stood behind the bar, mindlessly wiping at the surface, I absentmindedly sighed more than usual. I wasn’t even paying attention to what I was doing as I stared off into the bar, wanting to be anywhere else. 

“You seem cheerful,” I finally heard from a deep voiced man sat at the bar, beer in hand. 

I turned to give Gladio an unamused look, which was about all I could muster. 

“What’s gotten you down? Prompto not visiting you?”

He seemed almost smug as he asked the question, and he knew the answer without me even speaking.

“No, he’s not. He tried to, but Cor’s keeping him busy,” I explained, trying to keep another sigh from welling up. 

“Oh, right. He seemed really excited about coming to see you next weekend,” he said, frowning slightly. “He said it was your birthday, right?”

I’d been trying to forget. He’d promised me that after missing my 21st birthday, as well as my 22nd, 23rd and 24th, he was adamant he’d make it back for my 25th. He wasn’t able to keep his promise, as it turned out. He told me Cor had something in mind for him to take care of, and that it was important. He’d apologised. He’d apologised profusely, and I’d told him that it was okay. It really wasn’t okay. 

“It’s no big deal,” I lied, smiling slightly. “He’s got more important things to do, so it’s fine.”

It was then Gladio’s turn to sigh, before he sipped a few times at his beer. 

“You’re a terrible liar, Rena,” he told me. “I’m heading over to Hammerhead myself.”

“Well, make sure he knows that I’m keeping a count of all the birthday presents he owes me,” I tried to joke. It was enough to earn a laugh from Gladio as he leant on the bar.

“I could take you with me, if you want.”

I looked up at him, partly confused, partly surprised. 

“What’s the catch?” I asked, glaring at him.

“I just want to talk with you on the way there. Nothing too strenuous, I’d think.”

I’d never visited Hammerhead in the four or so years he’d been living there. It hadn’t really occurred to me since I’d never really had the time off work that seemed to match up with Gladio’s trips there. This time was different as I’d already booked the time off for my birthday. 

“You’re serious?” I asked, tilting my head at him. 

“Of course I’m serious. It’ll stop him from asking about you all the time when I’m there too. It’s almost like you’d be doing me a favour.”

“He asks about me a lot?”

“You have  _ no  _ idea.”

I’d been more than happy to agree to go to Hammerhead with Gladio. It had been a long five years since I’d last been there, but the idea of the place itself didn’t excite me whatsoever. Seeing Prompto for just a little bit on my birthday after he’d missed so many of them made me feel more excited than I ever had been. 

I’d told Gladio not to tell Prompto that I’d be visiting. I wanted to surprise him for once, because I never had the opportunity to anymore. The last chance I’d had was when I sent him the care package all that time ago, and even then I hadn’t gotten to experience it in person.  

It was at the end of the week when I was stood in the carpark, almost bouncing on the spot in excitement as I waited for Gladio. My backpack that had been unused for many, many years was stuffed full of clean clothes and other bits and pieces for my trip, and it was hard to deny that I felt nervous, yet eager to leave Lestallum for the first time since my trip to the Vesperpool with Prompto. 

I’d only seen the outside of Lestallum from the look out where I could see these faint glows in the distance that I couldn’t quite make sense of. 

“You ready to go?” I heard Gladio ask from behind me. I spun around to see him approaching me, Amarantha at his side smiling at me slightly, though I could tell that there was a hint of worry in her eyes.  

“Yep. Let’s go already, I’ve been waiting all day to leave,” I said impatiently as I bounced towards the pair. 

“Are you sure you want to go?” Amarantha asked quietly. “You know it’s really dangerous out there, right?”

“Oh? Really? I’d been staying in the city just for the fun of it,” I said sarcastically. She nudged my shoulder with her own slightly, like she was telling me to stop kidding around. “I want to go,” I told her sternly. “I really, really want to go.”

“I guess I don’t really understand it,” she sighed. “But you’d better have fun. I’m going to be mad at you if you come back and didn’t have a good time because I’ll be worrying about you until you’re back.”

“I just want to see Prompto,” I said, laughing half heartedly. “You’d get it too if your boyfriend was hardly around.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I don’t have to understand,” she nodded, though I could tell she was still worried. “Just come back safe, okay? I don’t want to lose either of you, let alone both of you at the same time.”

I smiled at her before leaning towards Gladio slightly.

“Is she like this every time you leave?” I whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. Gladio let out his loud, boisterous laugh before looking at Amarantha.  

“Yeah, every single time.”

She pouted as she looked at the two of us. With one last smile, I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her in for a tight hug. Her long, light brown hair tickled my nose slightly as she buried her face into my shoulder. It was obvious that she wasn’t happy about me leaving. We’d pretty much always been together, and this was the first time we’d be so far apart from each other. 

I hoped that she understood why it was that I wanted to go. 

“I’ll see you in a few days,” I told her with a smile before I backed away. She was on the verge of tears, and I thought that maybe it wasn’t just me that felt lonely in this bustling city. As she looked from me to Gladio, she burst into tears before folding herself into his arms and burying her face in his chest. 

It was rare to see Gladio with a gentle smile on his face, but he really did seem to have a soft spot for the girl in front of him. One of his arms wrapped around her while the other hand went to dig through his back pocket. He threw the keys to his truck towards me, giving me a small gesture to go ahead of him and get myself settled for what would be a long journey. I nodded to him, unlocking the truck and throwing my bag into the front seat before I clambered in after it. 

It felt weird to be in such a small space after such a long time. There was little use for vehicles within the city because everything was in walking distance. The last time I’d been in a car was when Prompto had hijacked the Regalia to take me on a trip to see the chocobos in an attempt to cheer me up. I couldn’t help but smile to myself at the memory as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to look at the few photos I’d taken on that day while I waited for Gladio.

My phone was barely functional after all this time, but it wasn’t exactly easy to come across a brand new one anymore, and even if it was possible, it would have been extortionate. I ran my finger along the screen as I looked at the photo of Prompto with the giant yellow bird. I shook my head slightly, remembering how carefree we really were back then. 

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Gladio opening his door and climbing into the driver's seat, slamming it shut behind him. He let out a small sigh as he held out his hand towards me, waiting for me to drop his keys into his palm. I did so as quickly as I could before I settled back into the seat. 

He started the truck, the familiar hum of the engine sending a harsh vibration through the seat. Wordlessly, he began to move the truck out of it’s parking space. He did it slowly enough for the two of us to give enthusiastic waves towards Amarantha whose eyes were red and puffy from crying. She waved back, doing her best to smile, but she looked as if she was truly dreading the weekend ahead. 

“Is she usually that upset when you go somewhere?” I asked as we began to make our way down the tunnel that would take me out of Lestallum for the first time in a long while. 

“Not usually that upset. I think she depends on you a little bit when I’m not around. Kinda like you depend on her when Prompto isn’t around.”

“So like, all the time?” I laughed, trying my best to make light of the situation, but leaving my best friend behind when she looked so upset felt heartbreaking. 

“I suppose so. I’m surprised you and Prompto have stuck it out this long, to be honest,” he told me with a sigh. “Must be pretty difficult, right? I get that impression, but he doesn’t like to talk about how much he misses you to me.” 

I couldn’t help but snort slightly at the idea of Prompto trying to come across as manly as he possibly could to Gladio.  

“Yeah. Difficult is a word that I’d use. It honestly feels a little bit like he’s my part-time boyfriend. I mean, I get why he’s doing what he’s doing, so I’m trying not to complain,” I sighed. 

“You’re allowed to complain,” he said, slowing the truck down slightly. “But complain to him.” I couldn’t help but giggle at him as we reached the end of the tunnel, before he pulled us to a stop, and turned to look at me. “As a warning, it’s pretty scary out there. I know you haven’t been outside yet, but you’ll be fine.” 

His warning had me more worried than I was before, but I gave him a nod. He nodded firmly in response, and with that, the truck began to move once more. I kept my eyes fixed ahead of me, wondering what it was that I was about to see. 

“I have something I wanted to talk to you about to take your mind off of it anyway,” he said, a hint of nervousness I’d never heard in his voice before. Not even when he’d asked me out on that date all those years ago during that drunken game of truth or dare.  

“I don’t like it when you sound nervous,” I pointed out. “How am I supposed to feel at ease when you’re nervous, of all people?”

It was enough to make him laugh as he leant back into his seat as if he was trying to relax.  

“Well. I guess here goes nothing,” he said, breathing in as if he was trying to build up some courage. “You know, you’re like the closest thing that Amarantha has to family, right?” 

I looked at him blankly for a moment. 

“Well, she never really knew her dad, and her mom hasn’t been around for awhile,” he explained. I knew that, but she’d rarely talk about her family. It was like it was somewhat of a sore spot for her, so I never pressed her on it. She mentioned it less after Gladio was in her life, and I was glad that he seemed to give her some kind of support.  

“Yeah. I think she’s probably the closest thing I have to family too,” I smiled, looking back at the road in front of us. Slowly, but surely, these almost ghostly figures came into view. Some of them were humanoid in nature, some of them let off these eerie flames that glowed brilliantly in the dark. They didn’t seem all that interested in approaching the truck as we drove past, which set my mind at ease, but I was quite confused as to what was stopping them. 

“Well then,” Gladio said, breaking my attention from the landscape. “With that said. I’m going to ask her to marry me,” he told me, the nervousness in his voice at it’s height. 

It felt like nothing else around me mattered for a few seconds. It was like time had frozen as I looked at him, eyes wide. His face had a pink stain to it that I couldn’t recall ever seeing in such force. 

“Shut up,” I said, completely stunned, unsure of how to sum up my feelings into words. He didn’t say anything for a minute. He just kept his eyes on the road, squirming slightly as if he felt uncomfortable at my stare that was quite probably just a little bit more intense than the situation called for. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah. I’m dead serious.”

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my  _ god _ ,” I found myself saying, not able to fathom any other words. Before I did think of anything else to say that was even remotely eloquent, I felt my eyes sting like I was just about to cry. “Oh my god, no. I don’t want to start crying. Not when it’s just the two of us. That’s awkward,” I said as I wiped at the skin underneath my eyes and slumped back into my seat. 

“Why are you crying?” Gladio asked, his eyebrow raised. 

“Because that’s the best news I’ve heard in such a long time,” I sniffed. “I’m so happy for you.”

“So I’ll take that as approval.” 

“You didn’t need my approval, but you have it. Just make sure that she calls me first after you ask her,” I grinned at him, before a few tears managed to escape my eyes. “Ugh. I dread to think what I’m going to be like at your actual wedding. Oh gods, can you imagine if Ignis got engaged? I’d be a wreck.”

He chuckled lightly at my audible thoughts that didn’t really mean anything. 

“What about you? What if Prompto asked you to marry him?” 

“He won’t. We talked about it a long time ago, so there’s no danger of that,” I said, waving him off. I could see that Gladio was frowning at me as if he was confused. “We’ve said that’s a thought for later. Like, when we’re living together. Probably not in the dark all the time. When it’s safe for us to maybe start a family. It’s not a right now thing.” 

“Huh… I would have thought Prompto was practically dying to marry you,” he said as if he was thinking out loud. “Though, what do I know? Maybe I’m more sentimental than he is.” 

“Hah, hilarious thought,” I said sarcastically. “I suppose we all move at our own paces though. Besides, I have this idea that Prompto _really_ wants Noct to be there if we ever get married. He’s never said so, but I just have a feeling.” 

“Who knows how long you could be waiting. It’s already been five years.” 

“Five years closer to seeing him again, I guess.” 

“That’s a way to look at it I suppose.” 

“When it comes to Noct, I have to keep positive for Prompto. Well, for at least two weeks out of the year. Just trying to get into character now,” I said, laughing lightly to try and break the weird feeling that was in my stomach.

“You’re really okay with waiting?” he asked, his voice serious.  

“I am. At least now I am. I hope I don’t get too impatient when I see you two engaged and happily in love,” I said, trying to tease him slightly. “Are you planning on telling Prompto?” 

“Mhmm,” he hummed. “And Ignis too. He should be there this weekend too. It’ll be the first time all three of us have been together in quite a long time.” 

I tried to place the last time I’d seen them all together in one place. The last time I could think of was just after Noct had disappeared, when I’d invited them to the bar. Life outside of their service had taken them to different places, and each of them had different priorities nowadays. 

Gladio spent his time  split between Amarantha, Iris and occasionally myself, sometimes spending his spare evenings at the bar, but mostly earning his money by hunting near Lestallum, every so often venturing a little further out to help out in Hammerhead. 

Ignis became somewhat of a nomad. It had taken him awhile to get used to his life after he’d lost his sight, but once he’d learnt how it was that he was supposed to live normally, he became the most independent person I’d ever met. He’d stop by in Lestallum every so often, and he’d always make a little time to do some cooking with me, but usually he went wherever it was that he was needed. 

And Prompto was the one who spent most of his time in Hammerhead, never really wondering all too far from his not-so-new home. He was the one I saw the least of, honestly.  

“That’ll feel pretty nostalgic,” I said as I looked up at the roof of the truck, just wanting to distract myself from the world around me. 

The car journey took the rest of the day, and by the time we made it to Hammerhead, it was well into the evening. It wasn’t like it was distinguishable from the colour of the sky. The only thing that gave it away was the fact that my energy was waning, and I’d kept a close watch of the clock on the dashboard of Gladio’s truck. 

Hammerhead was… much different to how I remembered it. It almost looked like a small military base, surrounded by high fences with hunters on guard as we approached. I was surprised by how bright the lights were, and wondered if that was what made Hammerhead somewhat of a safe haven for hunters. I really didn’t know anything about the world, I realised, as we waited for the gates to open.

“You’re suddenly quiet,” Gladio said, looking over to me out of the corner of his eye. 

It was true. At the sight of Hammerhead, I’d stopped talking entirely whereas we’d been chatting happily throughout the entire journey. I couldn’t tell if I was surprised by how much it had changed, or if I suddenly felt nervous about being in Prompto’s home. It’d only be a little while longer before I’d be with him.  

“I’m suddenly nervous,” I told him, clutching my phone in my hands as tightly as I could. 

“You shouldn’t be nervous. The journey’s the worst part,” he tried to reassure me, and I nodded. I wasn’t sure why I was nodding at him. Maybe I was trying to show him that I was listening. 

Half a minute passed before the gates were pulled open and slowly we pulled in, parking the truck in the corner, close to the garage. I couldn’t see any familiar faces straight away as we pulled in and I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or not. As the engine was finally turned off, it seemed a lot quieter than it was. I hadn’t even realised how loud it was until it wasn’t there anymore.

Gladio was quick to clamber out of the driver's seat, stretching his muscles out as he stood up straight for the first time in hours. I heard his bones crack as he did, which seemed to snap me out of my thoughts. I looked around before I scooped up my backpack and shuffled towards the door, climbing out myself. I hauled my bag up onto my shoulders and made my way around to the opposite side of the vehicle, hoping Gladio would have more of a clue about where Prompto would be or where I should go. 

It was as I stood beside Gladio that I caught my first glimpse of Prompto in what was his home. His face looked as if it was covered in dirt, like he’d been out for a few days and hadn’t had a moment to wipe it away. He was grinning like he always did, and for a moment, I could feel the butterflies that only he could make me feel as they swirled around my stomach.

But it was only for a brief moment.

It was then that it was replaced by a feeling that I was quite unfamiliar with. I felt sick, like the butterflies that had been in my stomach before were too much. I felt like I wanted to cry. 

His grin was directed towards the blonde mechanic, who seemed like she hadn’t changed a lot since I’d last caught a glimpse of her five years ago. She was still beautiful; much more so than I was. And she was laughing at Prompto, as if he’d told her the funniest joke she’d heard in ages. It was then that she reached up to give his shoulder a squeeze before she let her hand fall, her gloved fingers grazing against his arm. 

I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I felt uncomfortable to say the least. 

I just grabbed for Gladio’s large shoulders and shoved him in front of me. His frame was much larger than my own, so hiding behind him wouldn’t be much of a problem. The moment he span around to look straight at Prompto and Cidney, I felt him let out a sigh. It was a sigh that told me that he’d almost been expecting this to happen. And he didn’t think to forewarn me. 

I banged my forehead against Gladio’s gigantic back as I tried to get rid of every feeling of jealousy that was welling up from within me. But I couldn’t help it; I couldn’t help but think back to before we were dating. How he’d pined after her and I’d given him advice on how to win her over. How Gladio had drunkenly text her from Prompto’s phone and she’d agreed to a date. 

“That idiot,” I heard Gladio whisper from under his breath before he took in another deep lungful of air. I couldn’t tell what was happening as I hid my face in his back, not wanting to look anymore and I was desperate to stop thinking for just a few seconds.

When did I become so insecure? 

“Hey, Prompto,” I finally heard from Gladio, feeling his booming voice vibrate from his body. “You done flirting?” I could tell that Gladio was probably about as amused at the whole situation as I was. Which was not very amused at all.  

“I wasn’t flirting,” I heard Prompto’s voice finally. I could tell that he was pouting. It was evident in his words. 

“Then what were you doing?” Gladio asked, and I made sure that I was tucked safely behind him. 

“I was getting paid. I took care of the job before you got here so I could try and get to Lestallum by tonight,” Prompto sighed. 

“You took care of the job? By yourself?” Gladio asked, his tone giving away his disbelief.  

“Yup. It was pretty simple, not that dangerous. Sorry to drag you all the way out here,” Prompto apologised.  

“Not a big deal. I might as well take on a couple of small jobs since I just drove for hours to get here and you didn’t even call to let me know the plan,” Gladio sighed, and I could tell he was slightly annoyed. He let out another breath before he shook his head. “I suppose I wanted to talk to you and Ignis this weekend anyway, so I suppose this is fine.” 

“I’d love to stay and chat, but I really, really want to get to Lestallum as soon as possible,” Prompto tried to explain, his tone hurried. I felt a little bit relieved at his words, and he still seemed oblivious to my presence.  

I felt Gladio hesitate as he leaned backwards as if he was trying to get some kind of response from me. With my forehead still resting against his back, I nodded slightly, though I wasn’t quite sure if I was ready to face Prompto. It was hardly a good idea to let him dash off to Lestallum when I wasn’t there.  

“Alright,” Gladio finally spoke. “Suppose I shouldn’t keep the two of you waiting.” 

It was at those words that he began to walk away, slowly with his large steps. Even then, Prompto didn’t notice me right away as he kept his eyes firmly fixed on Gladio, frowning at him slightly as if he was thoroughly confused. He shook his head slightly before he turned towards me, freezing in place as he looked at me. 

I wondered how I looked to him. Did I look worried? Jealous? Nervous? Insecure? 

I felt as if I was wearing all of those emotions on my face, and there was little I could do to hide it. All I was concerned about was that those negative feelings that I was wearing for everyone to see were overshadowing the genuine feeling of peace that I felt as he looked at me. 

He looked at me wide eyed for a few long moments, blinking a few times as if he was trying to clear his vision. He didn’t seem to notice all of the emotions that were bubbling up from my very core. He just saw me, stood there, suddenly in Hammerhead. 

He didn’t say a word. He just approached me as quickly as he could, wrapping me up in his arms and pulling me close to his body.

“W-What are you doing here?” he finally managed to stutter out. 

“I came with Gladio to see you. You said you weren’t going to be around,” I tried to explain, but there was this nervousness in my voice that I’d never, ever had around him before. Not when we’d first seen each other again in Hammerhead all those years ago. Not when he came to visit and we’d had to readjust to each other because it had been so long. 

“And here I was working my hardest to try and get to Lestallum to surprise you,” he said, giggling as if he was as nervous as I was. 

“I guess it was my turn to surprise you for once,” I mumbled, trying my best to suppress every negative feeling I had. I felt so conflicted and confused. A few seconds of silence followed as he just held me quietly. 

“Do you want to stay here? We can go back to Lestallum if you want to,” he said, like he was trying to comfort me and shed me of all my worries. He probably thought that I was feeling so odd because of all of the daemons that I’d seen on my way to him, and all of the daemons that I could see not too far away from Hammerhead. Perhaps he thought I was worried because of all of the hunters wandering around Hammerhead, all of them able to protect themselves, whereas I wouldn’t have been able to do a thing if something had gone wrong.

None of my feelings were because of the world I was living in, for once. I just felt uneasy, and more than anything, I wanted Prompto to lie next to me as I slept, silently reassuring me that everything was okay.

“I’ve just travelled a long way. I’d kind of like to sleep if I can,” I said, sure that I’d feel better after resting up a little bit. “Besides, Gladio said that Ignis was supposed to be here this weekend. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him.” 

Ignis’ presence always made me feel a little more at ease. He was almost like a parental figure that knew exactly how to comfort me whenever we saw each other. He never really needed to know what was wrong, but he knew what to do to make me smile, though he never would have seen it to confirm it.  

“He should be here tomorrow,” Prompto told me as he finally pulled away to look at me, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of my eyes. He gave me a small, warm smile before his head dipped down to catch my lips with his own. It was an innocent enough kiss that ended sooner than I would have liked, but I felt like it was enough. “So, shall we go?” 

He offered his hand out to me, and I tucked my own into it. He began to pull me across the small lot of land towards a very familiar place that I couldn’t help but smirk at. He was tugging me in the direction of the trailer that I’d stayed in all those years ago. I never suspected that I’d ever be back in that trailer, of all places, where my journey had pretty much started. 

We stayed silent as he pulled out a small set of keys upon our arrival at the trailer, and he quickly unlocked it, pulling the door open and ushering me inside. It was almost as I remembered. At least, the bed was in the same place, the small and basic kitchen still looked like it was in the same condition, and the small seating area looked unused and untouched. 

But it was much different. It felt homely, the walls decorated with a variety of photographs from Prompto’s journey, a few personal things of his own scattered around, and the only source of light being a dim string of fairy lights that were almost identical to the ones that I had wrapped around my headboard at home in Lestallum.  

I scanned the photographs that were on the walls. There were a lot of familiar ones to me; ones that I’d seen time and time again because they were in the scrapbook that I looked over whenever I felt sad or lonely. I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the sight of one of the photos. Why had he hung up a photo of the hot pot I’d cooked him so long ago amongst the photos of his precious friends?  

A lot, I hadn’t seen before. He’d never really had the courage to show me the photos that he’d taken in Altissia, but I knew that a few of his photos just had to be from their trip there. Before everything had gone so wrong. The architecture of the land was so much different to anything I’d ever seen in Lucis. Looking at them, I could almost feel the warmth of the sun on my skin again. It was a strange feeling.  

It was nostalgic to see so many photos of the four friends together. It was enough to make me smile slightly; seeing so many photos of Noct, because I barely had any. He was smiling, grinning, as if he was the most carefree Prince that had ever existed.  

There were then a few photos of him dressed in clothing I’d never seen before. He was bundled up in these thick layers of clothes, a hat covering his usually spiky hair, and he was surrounded by white snow. That must have been a part of his journey he’d never really told me about. Amongst those photos, a couple of them were photos he’d taken at arm's length with a silver haired woman. She looked a little older than him, but she was beautiful.

It was just a stupid photo that had been taken years ago, but it set off this feeling of doubt in my stomach again. If he’d had all these beautiful women surrounding him, why had he picked me of all people? 

I swallowed the lump in my throat, mentally telling myself that I needed to take comfort in the fact that there were so many photos of the two of us that decorated his walls. I turned slightly, looking towards the bed. Thrown to the side, as if he’d been in a hurry to get up that morning, was the handmade blanket I’d sent him that was almost the same colour as his eyes. But at the very least, he’d been using it. On the small bedside table that looked like it had been cobbled together by wooden crates that had no other use, there sat the framed photo that I’d sent in his care package along with the wooden carving of the chocobo that had started the whole idea. And on the pillow, though slumped to the side, there was the chocobo plushie that I’d bought him for his birthday all that time ago.  

The more I looked around, the more I noticed how many traces of our relationship were evident. Were they important to him? They looked as if they were, but everything felt so uncertain to me. 

“I would have cleaned up a little if I’d known you were going to visit,” he finally told me as he closed the door. He must have been watching me quietly for a minute or two as my eyes fell on the photos, to the small knick knacks that littered his abode. 

“It’s fine,” I told him, though my voice was still quiet. 

“Are you okay?” he asked me as he took my hand again and pulled me onto the small couch that looked as if it was rarely used. I sat down before I answered, sliding my shoulders out of the loops of the backpack and rolling them slightly. 

“I am,” I lied. I wasn’t okay. I was tired, I was confused, I was upset, and all of it was down to me and my own insecurities. 

“Y’know, I can tell when you’re not telling the truth,” he said, his words careful as if he didn’t want to upset me. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I get it, but just so you know, if you want to talk, we can.”

He was being so reasonable and nice that it almost made things worse. If he’d been angry -- just the slightest bit upset, even -- maybe I wouldn’t have felt so guilty for being so unsure about everything. 

“It’s probably not important,” I said, smiling at him as much as I could. “Hopefully I’m just tired because the journey was long.”

“I’m a little bit happy that I don’t have to make it myself,” he giggled, gripping at my hand slightly. “And I’m really happy that you’re here.”

“I’m sure I’ll be happy once I’ve slept,” I said, rubbing at my eyes. I really was tired, that much wasn’t a lie. I just hoped that everything felt worse than it was because I was so exhausted. 

“Do you want to go to sleep?” he asked, his hand wandering from mine to slowly, and ever so gently caress my cheek. “You have to rest up for your birthday.” He spoke at me with his wide, goofy grin that I love so much. His face was still covered with dirt, and I’d barely looked at him to realise it. 

“I think you might be more excited about my birthday than I am.”

I quickly pulled the sleeve of my shirt down over my hand and began to wipe at his face. It didn’t seem to shift anything really -- just smear it around a little bit. 

“Of course I am. It’s my first time celebrating your birthday with you. I mean, there isn’t a whole lot to do around here, but I’m sure we can figure something out,” he smiled, pulling away from me slightly to wipe at his own cheek.

“Let’s be honest,” I yawned. “There’s not anything to do anywhere really.”

“That’s true,” he giggled slightly. “I think I might need to grab a shower before I get into bed.”

“You do,” I said with a nod, and it brought a small laugh out of him. 

“Okay. I’ll do that. You can go to sleep if you want to. Make yourself at home either way,” he said before he leant over, placing another short, chaste kiss on my forehead before he stood up and gathered a few of his things. Before I knew it, he was out of the trailer, leaving me on my own. 

I began to dig through my bag, pulling out my pyjamas. The blinds on the windows were already shut, so I quietly crawled out of my uncomfortable clothes and into the soft and warm fabric of my pyjamas. Prompto had been telling the truth when he spoke of how cold Hammerhead could be. I especially wasn’t used to it, coming from Lestallum where it was always humid. 

I carefully fell onto the bed, the mattress just as uncomfortable as I remembered it. 

I could remember wanting desperately wanting to wait for Prompto to come back before I fell asleep, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from slowly closing. I couldn’t fight the fatigue that ran through my body, no matter how much I tried. I could only hope that he’d understand when he came back why I couldn’t stay awake any longer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I've been so terrible with updates lately! And responding to comments. I'm not at home currently, so I've managed to find a little time to finish off this chapter and post it. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for all the kudos and comments as usual, and I'll definitely be getting around to replying to them when I'm at home. Oh, and I hope everyone's enjoyed Episode Prompto this week! Though Intensive Training can suck it (I suck, actually. I hate it a bit. Aranea keeps hurting me.)


	31. Chapter 31

_ For a long while, I sat in a peaceful abyss. The darkness that encircled me was relaxing. Comforting even. It seemed to last for hours, maybe even days as it grasped its fingers around me, letting me rest.  _

_ That was when the darkness started to change. Colours and shapes began to appear, though blurry. The air around me had a certain crispness to it. It smelt fresh, clean and perhaps even just a little floral.  _

_ The darkness turned into a brilliant light; a natural light that felt so unfamiliar to me. It gave me a similar comfort to the darkness, but yet it felt altogether different.  _

_ As the colours began to come into focus, my feet found purchase on the solid ground. I was surrounded by blue and yellow flowers that looked as if they were blooming right before me.  _

_ I looked around, taken aback by the sight, spinning around once until I stopped, looking ahead of me to see my beautiful Prompto smiling at me. His smile was small, yet it’s earnest nature told me that he was looking at me with every ounce of love and care he could muster.  _

_ Silently, he began to approach me. The only thing I could hear was the wind as it rustled the flowers beneath us. I stood there as I waited for him, taking in his almost ethereal aesthetic as the wind moved his hair slightly. He almost seemed as if he was floating.  _

_ He continued slowly until he was stopped in his tracks. The wind stopped dead at the sudden noise.  _

_ “Prompto.” _

_ The voice was familiar; friendly even.  _

_ But at the sound of this voice, everything else was silent as if the whole world was holding its breath.  _

_ Prompto, noticing this voice, slowly stepped to the side, turning to look behind him.  _

_ Seemingly out of thin air, stood his raven haired best friend who had been absent for so long. Suddenly, he stood behind the love of my life, a gentle, warm smile on his face.  _

_ His hair was moving on the breeze that seemed to exist only for him. Nothing around him moved. The flowers were very much still. The only thing that did move were the strands of his hair and the collar of his shirt.  _

_ It was then that he held his hand out towards Prompto, offering his best friend a place beside him once more. I knew that offer did not extend to me.  _

_ I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, maybe two. When I opened them again, alongside Noctis stood his friends. His comrades.  _

_ Gladio. Ignis. Iris. Cidney. Cor. A plethora of faces that I didn't recognise, all clad in Kingsglaive uniforms. The silver haired woman from the photo.  _

_ They all stood alongside Noctis.  _

_ That was when they all offered their hands out to Prompto, urging him forward.  _

_ Prompto turned to look at me. A mournful look stuck to his face, but yet, he seemed happy.  _

_ “I’m sorry.” _

_ His words were mumbled, but I heard them as clear as day.  _

_ He turned his back to me one last time, making his way towards the group of people stood across from him, leaving me on my own.  _

_ “Prompto?” _

_ My voice was small, and it’s tone gave away my confusion and hurt.  _

_ I struggled against the flowers that seemed to be wrapped around my legs, stopping me from chasing after him. I struggled. But I couldn't move.  _

_ “Prompto!” _

_ I managed to shout out to him at the top of my lungs. My voice seemed to bounce off of walls that I couldn't see as it echoed around me.  _

_ “Please!” _

_ I shouted again, to no avail. I couldn't tell if he couldn't hear me, or if he was ignoring my desperate pleas.  _

_ “Don't leave me on my own!” _

_ By now, the tears were streaming down my face, my words choked out in between sobs that I couldn't hold back.  _

_ Around me, the brilliant blue and yellow flowers began to wither away, leaving nothing but dead leaves and dried petals in their wake.  _

_ I fell to the floor, grabbing at the dirt as I tried to pull myself forward, towards Prompto. The dirt turned to thick mud that seeped between my fingers as I tried, making it impossible to move.  _

_ All I could do was watch as the field of flowers around me slowly died, the sun slowly fizzled out and turned into darkness, and the group of smiling faces faded from my view along with Prompto.  _

_ I was left in the darkness again.  _

_ I was alone again.  _

_ Just as it was always meant to be.  _

It didn’t feel as if it was much longer before my eyes fluttered open. I blinked a few times as I tried to adjust to my surroundings, remembering that I was in Hammerhead. I moved slightly, looking down just a little bit to see Prompto sat on the floor, his back leaning against the bed. 

My nose felt blocked, my eyes felt swollen.

“Prompto?” I croaked, my voice still sore from the long sleep the night before. 

He was quick to turn and face me, his eyes a little darker than usual. He looked conflicted, and for a few seconds, he said nothing. I propped myself up on my elbow and leant out to touch his shoulder. As soon as I touched him, his eyes brightened slightly, and he smiled at me.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said, quickly placing his hand on top of my own and he quickly spun himself around on the floor so that he was kneeling in front of the bed. “Happy birthday.”

His voice didn’t have it’s usual happiness to it. As a matter of fact, it sounded rather somber. I felt sick, worried. Perhaps he’d been doubting his choice of girlfriend as he sat there on the floor as I slept.

“Hey, are you okay?” he finally asked me. “You seemed really upset in your sleep.”

“I had a strange dream,” I told him, sighing slightly as I tried to remember it. “At least, I think I did.”

He nodded as he listened, forcing a smile on his face as he did so. I could tell it was forced because his nose didn’t scrunch up the same way it did when he genuinely smiled. He bit his lip slightly, before he hauled himself up to sit on the bed beside me, his hand still clinging on to mine. 

“You know I love you, don’t you?” he suddenly asked, worry evident on his face.

He’d probably figured out that there was something wrong with me. He’d told me time and time again that he loved me since he’d moved away from Lestallum. He’d told me every time we spoke on the phone. He’d reassured me every time I felt that slight wave of doubt wash over me. He’d never said it so seriously though.

I nodded at him, not feeling convinced enough to speak to him, or verbally agree with his question. I wanted to believe him more than I’d ever wanted anything. He’d done nothing to make me doubt him. I was being so unfair, and I knew it. But I just couldn’t convince myself anymore. 

I had no reason not to believe him, but I didn’t anymore.

And I knew he didn’t believe my nod, just by looking at him. 

He could have easily ignored it. He could have just pretended that I was okay. I would have been fine with it. But he didn’t. He pursed his lips, sighing slightly as he linked his fingers with my own. I knew he was at a loss as to what to do, or what would make things better. 

I didn’t really know either. I suppose it wasn’t as simple as I wanted it to be. 

“I love you,” he told me, like he’d told me so many times, this time his voice sounding just a little bit more desperate. I looked up to him, and seeing his pleading eyes made my heart bleed. 

I loved him. I loved him as I had for years. 

Yet, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how he could feel the same way about me. 

He surrounded by people who were just so much stronger than me, more capable than me, more beautiful than me. How could he choose me above all of them? How could he love me when he saw them more than he did me?

Then, as I thought about it, I let out a loan chuckle. Humourless, not even bringing a smile out of me. 

He hadn’t chosen me over anyone. Not really. He had chosen everyone over me. He’d made the choice to move away from me, to Hammerhead for his greater cause that didn’t make me feel as if I was cared for.

I was horrible. I was selfish. I hated it. 

I hated me. 

“Rena?”

His voice seemed almost hopeless as he brought me out of my spiral of dangerous, destructive thoughts. 

“Yeah?” I responded, my voice a mere whisper. 

“Do you still…” he mumbled, his hand squeezing mine tighter. “...love me?” His voice was tiny as he finished his thought. 

“Of course I do,” I said. My voice sounded genuine, which only served to make everything else I’d said to him since I’d arrived in Hammerhead that much more questionable. 

“We can talk about things later, if you want,” he sighed, trying his best to smile. “I promise that I won’t be upset with you.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. 

“Yeah. Maybe that would be okay,” I said, trying to hide the sheer terror that was in my voice. “Though maybe tomorrow. I want to try and enjoy my birthday for once,” I smiled, trying to giggle slightly. 

“Of course. I suppose we should start with your gift,” he grinned.

“You actually got me something?” I asked, tilting my head slightly. He’d always said that there wasn’t much to buy in Hammerhead that would have made a decent gift. It was mostly a place for hunters, so weaponry was a lot more common than anything else. 

“I did,” he smiled, pulling me up so that I was upright. Before anything else, he leant forward, placing a kiss on my lips. He let it linger for a moment, and something about it was reassuring, just slightly. He pulled back, letting his forehead rest against my own as his free hand came to gently touch the side of my face. “Close your eyes,” he instructed me. 

I did as he told me, closing my eyes tightly as I tried not to peek. I felt his weight shift off of the bed, and a few loud noises as he perhaps opened a cupboard and began to rifle around a little. After a few moments, I felt his weight on the bed beside me again. 

“Okay, you can open them now,” he said, and I inched my eyes open carefully. 

Prompto was looking at me, a slight pink staining his cheeks, offering towards me what I could only assume was my gift. In front of me he was holding a bouquet of flowers, a variety of different blues presented to me. They weren’t like any other kind of flowers that I’d seen. As I looked closer, I realised that they were made completely out of paper and card. 

“Did you make these?” I asked as I reached out towards them, plucking them from his hand carefully. I looked over them, scared that they’d fall apart in my hand. I counted them, noticing that he’d made twenty five of these flowers; one for each year of my age.

“Yeah. It took me weeks to figure it out properly,” he said, giggling slightly. 

He did make it hard to doubt him, especially when he looked at me, that sweet, adorable smile on his face. Yet, I was still a little unsure, and couldn’t work out what it was that I could do to get rid of my doubts.

All I could do was gently place the delicate paper flowers down next to the photo of us on the makeshift bedside table, and look to Prompto. I placed my hands on either side of his face, giving him a small, genuine smile. 

“I love them,” I told him, a certain sternness in my voice. “I love  _ you _ .”

I didn’t give him the chance to respond, because I knew exactly what he’d say. He’d tell me that he loved me too. And I couldn’t handle hearing it because the doubt that ate away at me broke my heart. 

Instead, I pulled him towards me, bringing his lips crashing down on mine. Usually, our kisses for the first day or so that we’d spent together were careful, almost nervous. This was different. It was only a few brief moments before something inside him seemed to snap. His lips began to frantically move against my mouth, his tongue quickly snaking it’s way into my mouth as he slowly adjusted himself, crawling over to me and pushing me down onto the mattress as carefully as his frenzied motions would allow. 

He was quick to position himself between my legs, pressing his whole body as close to mine as he possibly could. When his mouth left mine, we were both gasping for breath. Mine were a lot shakier than his, like my body was instinctually showing how nervous I was, though my mind was tangled up in knots. 

He didn’t give himself much of a chance to breathe before he was spreading kisses across my jaw that trailed down my neck hastily. His hands were quick to tug at the bottom of my shirt, and I was just as quick to help pull it off of my body. I’d never felt more exposed in front of him as he looked over me, his eyes dark as if he felt some kind of primal hunger. I could have sworn that he let out the quietest, lowest growl as his eyes were on me, flicking up and down slightly. He pulled his own shirt over his head and cast it off to the side.

He didn’t spend more than a few seconds looking over me before he dipped his head back down, pressing his lips along the swell of my breasts. Again, not lingering for too long, he moved down, kissing my stomach down to my hips.

This was what I wanted. I wanted to feel as close to him as I could. 

It was as he hooked his fingers around the waistband of my pyjamas that time seemed to freeze for just a moment. 

I wondered if he’d thought about doing these same things with Cidney. Did he feel the same level of desire for her? I couldn’t blame him. She was so much more beautiful than I was, and she exuded this air of confidence that I couldn’t match. Maybe they had so much more in common than Prompto and myself did. 

Why now? Why did I have to think those things now? 

Prompto had this ability to look at me when we were alone and convey one very specific feeling to me. I don’t know if it was in the way that he smiled, or if it was the way his eyes seemed to sparkle just slightly. But when he looked at me, he was showing me that, at least at that time, I was the absolute centre of his universe. In those moments, there was nothing more important to him than me. 

But I thought of that look that he gave me, and I thought of Cidney. 

Maybe that look wasn’t meant to be reserved for only me. 

All of those thoughts coursed through my mind over the course of a handful of seconds. As he pressed soft kisses into my hips, I let out a whimper. It wasn’t one of pleasure, or encouragement. It was a noise I didn’t want to make, yet it oozed out of my mouth as I felt a sob begin to gurgle at the back of my throat. 

I wanted Prompto to be mine, and he was. Yet I was terrified that our relationship had an expiry date. That he’d think that it was too much trouble. That I was too much trouble. 

Hot, sticky tears began to roll down the side of my face as I looked up at the roof of the trailer. I could feel them slowly trickle around my earlobes as I just waited, hoping that the feeling would pass. 

I hadn’t even realised that Prompto had stopped in place for a few seconds. He pushed himself up so that he was hovering over me on the palms of his hands. I swallowed the lump that was lodged in my throat to look at him. His eyes were different, like the colour had returned to them, concern evident in his face. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, crawling up towards my face again, reaching up to wipe away the tears on my face with the pad of his thumb. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to upset you.”

He sounded as if he felt guilty. Like he’d gotten the wrong idea and had taken it too far. I shook my head adamantly. 

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” I told him, sniffing slightly and covering my face with my hands. I didn’t want to look at him, because the look of confusion that seemed to be bordering on hurt just made me want to cry even more.

I wondered if I would have felt this way if I’d just seen him a minute later, when he wasn’t with Cidney. When she wasn’t running her hand down his arm and he wasn’t smiling at her with the same smile I’d seen hundreds of times. 

I felt him shift on the bed as he pulled back from me, and a few seconds later, I felt a heap of slightly warm cotton fall on my stomach. I sniffed again, wiping my face as I looked down to see his shirt sat on me.

“Put that on,” he told me as he looked away, almost like he was trying to give me some privacy. I nodded, although he couldn’t see, and pulled it over my head. I was immediately embraced by the sweet smell of vanilla, and it was somewhat of a comfort. I cleared my throat when I was done, and he turned towards me, sighing slightly as he was me curled up near the head of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, wishing I had something more to say, but I didn’t. I could hear that my voice was wobbling as I tried to compose myself, which meant he was more than aware that I wasn’t okay. 

“Why don’t we talk for a bit?” he offered as he tried to look as reassuring as possible. I nodded again, and he shuffled towards me so that we were sat side by side on the single bed. We barely had any room, but it was okay. I could feel his bare arm on my own, and it was like he was grounding me for just a few moments. 

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked nervously. I knew full well that he wanted to know what was bothering me, but I’d hoped that my question could delay the response he wanted to hear. Really, I didn’t know how to voice my feelings.

Prompto had been my first serious boyfriend. He wasn’t just a fling that meant nothing. I seriously, seriously loved him, and what I felt for him was far beyond anything that I’d ever experienced before. I hadn’t done anything to deserve him, but I was terrified of him realising that. 

I’d never been so scared to lose anything before. 

“I know I said you didn’t have to talk about anything if you didn’t want to, but I’m worried about you,” he started, his words cautious. His hand reached for my own, gripping it tightly. 

There was a minute of silence that followed as I looked at my knees that I’d brought up towards my chest. I really didn’t know what to say, but he waited patiently for me to find some words that would help to explain things.

“I don’t know,” I finally said, my voice barely louder than a whisper. 

“You know, you can be honest. I’m not going to be mad at you or anything,” he reassured me, though there was a slight tremor to his voice, telling me that he was worried.

“I think I’m jealous, maybe?” I half questioned. That was the most simple way I could describe my feelings.

“Of who?” he asked, frowning as if he really didn’t know. 

“Cidney,” I whispered, so quietly I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me. There were a few seconds of silence that followed, before he let out a quiet breath.

“Was it because of what Gladio said yesterday? About me flirting, or whatever it was?”

I shook my head, hesitating for a second.

“It was because it looked like she was flirting with you,” I admitted. 

It was only then that I looked at him properly, biting my lip to try and stop it from wobbling. I wanted to see what his face was telling me, but he just looked confused. He didn’t look as if he felt guilty, or at all conflicted. Just confused.

“I don’t think that’s true,” he said slowly. “Why would that make you jealous?”

“Because being here just reminded me how small of a part I am in your life,” I blurted out without even thinking. “I’m your girlfriend, I know that, but I hardly see you and she gets to see you all the time. She gets to see you get stronger, and I feel like I just get updates whenever you have the time.”

He thought for a few moments, then smiled at me ever so slightly.

“I love you,” he smiled. “I mean that. And if I could spend every day with you, I would. You know I would.”

“You could, couldn’t you?” I asked, my words sounding somewhat hopeful. “You’re stronger than you were, aren’t you? Isn’t that enough?”

I’d never voiced my selfish thoughts before, and I knew that it was a mistake as soon as I saw his face change.

“Rena,” he sighed. “It’s not that simple.”

I knew it wasn’t that simple, but I wanted it to be. 

“What if he never comes back?” I asked quietly. “Does that mean that you’re always going to be here, waiting for him?”

That was the first time I’d ever seen him look so hurt by my words. 

“He will come back,” he bit back. 

Silence again. 

This time it was a long silence as his tight grip on my hand loosened, and neither of us could look at the other. I knew I’d made a mistake by talking about the things that were on my mind, but they had mostly been lingering worries that had been around for years. 

It was like watching Cidney slowly run her hand down his arm was the catalyst for everything crumbling down in my mind. Before then, I’d just shouldered the burden and I’d done it happily. I wanted my future to be with Prompto, and I firmly believed he was working towards making sure that there would be one. 

“I’m sorry,” I finally said. “That was stupid of me to say.”

“How can I make things better?” he asked, his voice giving away that he felt heartbroken.

“I don’t know,” I sighed. 

He nodded, signalling that he thought there was meaning to be understood. There wasn’t anything. There wasn’t anything that he could do short of packing up his life in Hammerhead and coming home with me.

Again, we fell into a silence. And it wasn’t like our usual silences. This one was awkward and uncomfortable. Neither of us seemed to be able to break it, and it made me feel awful, and sick. 

This wasn’t exactly how I’d intended my 25th birthday to go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I be sorry? I feel like I should be sorry, but I don't know if I am.


	32. Chapter 32

After what was an uncomfortable amount of time, Prompto eventually clambered off of the bed in order to get himself dressed. He’d mumbled something about going to get food before he left me on my own in the trailer again, giving me perhaps too much time to go over the hundreds and thousands of thoughts that were swirling around in my head. 

After I’d gotten changed out of my pyjamas and his shirt, I felt like I just needed to be outside. It was surprising how warm the trailer actually felt, considering Prompto had told me that Hammerhead was a lot colder than Lestallum time and time again on the phone. 

Once my jeans were on, my feet were shoved into my boots and I was wearing one of the many plain, loose fitting t-shirts that I owned, I stepped out into the darkness that was Hammerhead.

Looking around, it was surprisingly busy, telling me that a few hunters had returned from their jobs and they were ready for some rest and recreation. They seemed to gravitate towards what used to be Takka’s Pit Stop. It didn’t look the same the the diner that I’d eaten jambalaya in all those years ago. It looked like it had been gutted completely, and made into some kind of armory. 

It didn’t look like a place I wanted to go to say the least. So instead, I turned to the plastic patio furniture that was still outside of the trailer. It was the same as all those years ago, yet it looked like it was hardly used, and that the plastic had been weathered over the years. It looked dirty, but at the very least, it was outside the trailer, and it wasn’t the husk of what used to be the diner. 

I sat down and pulled my phone from my pocket, hoping to find someway to busy myself, but it was so old and barely functioned. I hadn’t played a game of King’s Knight in years because it just seemed the drain the battery almost instantly. Really, my phone had little use when Prompto was around.

I did find it strange though. I hadn’t received a single message from Amarantha. She hadn’t text me to wish me a happy birthday, she hadn’t called to make sure we’d arrived safely. She must have had a hell of a shift the night before, I thought. I tucked my phone away, and looked up to the dark sky.

Part of me hoped to see the faintest sign of stars, but it seemed Hammerhead was much too bright to get even a glimpse. I sighed as I looked up, wondering what it was that I was supposed to fill my day up with. 

“Afternoon, birthday girl,” I finally heard a familiar voice say. My head lulled down slightly to look at Gladio who was stood in front of me, arms folded across his chest, slight smile on his face. What delighted me when I looked to him was the familiar figure stood next to him.

Ignis was smiling slightly, as he looked vaguely in my direction, his eyesight still no better even after all this time. He looked so different than the last time I saw him. His usually perfectly upright hair was a little messier than usual, but it was still donned in the same style. His sunglasses were vastly different from the last time I’d seen him too. They looked a lot less fragile, and a lot more practical. 

Just the sight of him made me grin. His company was just what I wanted after such a shitty morning. I scraped back my chair, and almost pounced towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

I heard a slight exhale, like the wind had been knocked out of him by my unexpected gesture, but after a second, I felt the flat of his hand on my back.

“I do hope this is Rena,” he joked as I pulled away from him, holding him at arm's length so that I could get a better look at him. 

“Who else is it going to be?” I asked, my voice sounding somewhat lighthearted for the first time all day. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“I would say likewise, but, you know,” he said, gesturing up to his dark glasses. I could just about see through them thanks to the artificial light in the small settlement, and I could see that his eyes were open, almost as if he was looking right at me. But it seemed as if the green of his eyes had been replaced with this eerie white. 

“I didn’t know what else would be appropriate,” I sighed, rolling my eyes slightly. “But it’s been a while. Cooking isn’t half as fun when I’m doing it on my own,” I told him, pouting. 

He chuckled slightly, covering his mouth with his knuckles as he did so. He still managed to be as dignified as always, I was glad to see. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, still chuckling. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

“Yep. And I can’t even text you to keep in touch.”

Somehow, his hand raised slightly so that he could ruffle my hair slightly. 

“I’ll make sure to try and stop by whenever I’m near Lestallum,” he grinned at me. “But since we’re here, we should catch up. Unless I’m keeping you. I don’t know if Prompto had anything planned for your birthday or not.”

“Not,” I said bluntly. I felt my whole posture change just at the mention of his name. At least for a few seconds, I’d been somewhat carefree. “Let’s catch up.”

I turned on my heel and walked back towards the gross, old patio furniture and almost threw myself down in my seat like I was a mopey teenager. I huffed slightly, folding my arms across my chest. The sudden change in mood hadn’t been lost on either Ignis, or Gladio who had been standing beside us the entire time. 

“Seems like you’re having a good day,” Gladio said as he slid into the seat opposite me. Ignis flawlessly found the seat next to me and sat himself down. 

“Oh yeah. Great day. When were you planning to go back to Lestallum?” I asked, sounding too eager. 

“Uh, tomorrow morning, probably,” he said, confusion in his voice. “I thought you were excited to be here?”

“I miss my apartment,” I told him. “Hammerhead sucks. This trip has been kind of a disaster.”

“You’ve been here for like, 12 hours,” Gladio quipped. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Let’s just say that I’ve had better birthdays and leave it at that,” I sighed. 

It was then that I heard a sound behind me, like paper crinkling. I turned slightly to see Prompto stood behind us, a look of disappointment on his face. In his hands, he held a brown paper bag, but he was clutching it tightly as if he was trying to find something to cling to. 

He’d definitely heard me. 

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said quietly. 

“You’re not interrupting anything,” Gladio said, grinning and completely unaware. “Sit down. There’s something I want to talk to you and Ignis about.”

With a sigh, Prompto sat himself down in the only empty seat next to me. As he did, he put the paper bag down on the table and inched it towards me. I looked at it, then back at him, not sure what it was.

“The food here isn’t that good,” he mumbled. “This was the best I could find.”

I plucked the bag off of the table cautiously and peered inside. It was just a simple cheese and wild onion sandwich. It was only then that I’d realised I hadn’t eaten since I’d arrived and my stomach grumbled slightly at the thought. 

I looked to Prompto again, doing my best to smile at him, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at his array of wristbands that he still wore, adjusting them slightly. 

“What was it that you wanted to talk about?” Ignis asked. I took the sandwich and began to nibble at it as I leant back in my chair, already knowing what the conversation was going to be about. 

“Well, here goes nothing, I guess,” he said as he took in a large lungful of air. “I’m going to ask Amarantha to marry me.”

There was a moment of silence, as if the words were sinking into the two comrades on either side of him. Once he’d processed the words that were suddenly out there, Prompto’s head snapped up as he looked to Gladio, and then to me, his eyes wider than I’d expected. 

“You’re serious?” Prompto asked, looking back to Gladio. 

“I’m serious,” Gladio confirmed with a nod. 

“So you haven’t asked her yet?” Ignis asked. 

“Not yet, no. I’m planning on doing it when we get back to Lestallum,” he answered, smiling slightly. 

“I suppose I should save my congratulations for the next time I see you then, shouldn’t I?” Ignis said, the smile evident in his voice. “But I am very happy for the two of you, indeed.”

“You’re asking her that soon?” Prompto asked, looking as if he had nothing else to say. 

“Prompto, she’s been my girlfriend for about five years, there's no 'soon' involved in this,” Gladio said with a frown, almost like he was confused as to why Prompto would have thought it was too soon. He reached over to jam Prompto’s ribs with his elbow and lean in slightly. “Don’t worry, I don’t think she’s expecting anything out of you because of the news,” he chuckled. 

I couldn’t help but slap the palm of my hand over my eyes as I heard him. 

“Can we not do that today?” I asked from under my hand, not wanting to look up. Instead I shielded my eyes from Prompto and Gladio, focusing on the sandwich that was just about half gone. “I’ll take back my approval if I need to.”

“Wait, when did you find out?” Prompto asked. 

“On the way here,” I answered, biting into my sandwich. I was hoping that would excuse me from being any more involved with the conversation.

“I guess Ignis is right,” Prompto finally sighed. “I should say congratulations if she says yes, right?”

“If you want to. But I wanted to let you guys know. We might not see all that much of each other anymore, but we still went through a lot. And we probably have more to go through before this is all over. So I guess it was important to me,” Gladio sighed. 

“Ew, are you getting sentimental?” Prompto asked, sounding somewhat horrified. 

“Shut up,” Gladio growled, though I could hear a slight smile to his voice. “That’s all anyway. I don’t want to steal any thunder from Rena.”

I waved him off as I shoved the last bite of the sandwich in my mouth. It wasn’t terrible as far as sandwiches went, but it wasn’t that great either. I swallowed the lump of food and finally brought my hand down so that I could look at all three of the men in front of me.

“I mean, it’s just my birthday. It’s not like I’m getting married. A birthday is way less exciting than a wedding,” I said, smiling slightly. “I don’t really have any thunder to steal.”

“I didn’t realise it was your birthday,” Ignis said, frowning a little. I could have sworn I saw a slight smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth though. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

With that, he stood up and began to wander off. 

“I’ll be back in a minute too,” Gladio said as he hauled himself up and followed behind Ignis at a leisurely pace. 

That left just me and Prompto sat beside each other.

“Thanks for the sandwich,” I mumbled as I reached up to grab the paper bag and fold it up as neatly as I could. 

“You’re welcome.”

I bit my lip nervously as I looked around anywhere I could that wasn’t in Prompto’s direction. He looked as if he was deep in thought, so I decided to leave him to his thoughts as I brought my phone out, checking to see if I had any messages. 

This time I had one, at least. From Iris, wishing me a happy birthday, and saying that she hoped I was having a good time in Hammerhead. I quickly tapped back a reply to her, saying thank you. There still wasn’t anything from Amarantha. Maybe she’d forgotten. 

“Hey, I have a weird question,” Prompto finally said as he looked at me nervously. I raised an eyebrow in his direction, signalling that he could ask it if he wanted. He understood, and let out a long breath. “You’re not feeling weird because Gladio’s going to ask Amarantha to marry him, are you?”

I tilted my head towards him, curious about where he’d gotten the idea from.

Being fair to him, perhaps he had misunderstood what it was I was feeling jealous of. 

“No, no. Don’t worry. I’m really happy for them. Why would I feel weird because my best friend’s going to get married?”

“Well, I mean, technically we’ve been together longer than they have. I don’t really know if it’s weird that they’ll get married first,” he mumbled, seemingly confused by how things were supposed to work.

“It’s different for us though, isn’t it?” I asked. “Gladio’s a little older than us. He’s gotta get in there before he gets too old, right?” I smiled, reaching over to nudge him with my shoulder slightly to try and get rid of the horrible mood that settled over us. It was enough to bring a slight giggle out of him at the very least, and it felt like a bit of a relief. 

“I guess you’re right,” he nodded. 

“Besides, you want Noct to be there when you get married, right?” I smiled.

That was when he finally gave me that big, beaming smile, and for the moment, that was enough to leave me without any worries. He reached over to place his hand on my knee and give it a gentle squeeze. 

“You know me so well,” he grinned. 

“Well, duh. We’ve been together for five years. I’d be worried if I didn’t know you well by this point.”

He sniggered slightly, and kept his grin present. It was at that moment that Ignis and Gladio returned, placing a few things down on the grimy patio table in front of me. As I turned my attention towards the table, I saw a small pile of parcels that were wrapped in different patterned papers. 

It didn’t register for a couple of seconds what they were, but as I looked at Ignis’ small smirk and Gladio’s large grin, I remembered that it was my birthday. There were an awful lot there for just me, and frankly speaking, I didn’t have  _ that  _ many friends. 

“You can’t have a birthday without gifts, right?” Gladio asked, still grinning.

“I mean, Prompto already gave me his gift,” I mumbled, cautiously eying the pile of presents. “This seems a bit much.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Prompto slowly slide out of his chair and enter the trailer again. He was trying to be quiet, so I did my best to ignore him.

“They’re from a bunch of people,” Gladio explained. “Obviously a couple are from me and Ignis, Iris sent something along and Amarantha wanted to spoil the heck out of you for some reason.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of my best friend. She really was the best friend I possibly could have ever had. Even though she knew I’d be with Prompto, she went out of her way to make sure I was as happy as possible.

I wished she was with me as I looked at the neatly wrapped gifts.

As I thought about her, a familiar hand slid one more gift onto the table. I looked up to see Prompto, carefully shoving his gift forward with a couple of his fingers as delicately as he could. 

“You already gave me something,” I pointed out as I looked up at him.

“I missed a lot of birthdays,” he shrugged, plopping himself back down in his chair. “C’mon, start opening stuff or we’re going to be here all day,” he said, leaning towards me slightly, like he was really interested in what the gifts were, perhaps more so than I was.

I leant forward, plucking up one of the parcels. I could feel that it was soft under my grip, and carefully I began to peel away the paper. Inside was this huge plush doll of a Moogle. I snickered at it as it became free of it’s paper prison, noticing the label that was tied around it’s neck. It simply read ‘Happy Birthday, kupo!’

I knew it was from Iris almost immediately. I’d seen her carting around very similar looking dolls before, even from when we’d first met. I’d remarked on how cute I thought it was, and she’d promised to make me one day. It was a promise that I’d completely forgotten about, but I was already grinning from just this one gift. 

I didn’t even know what to pick up next, but Gladio was quick to choose one for me. He thrust was was essentially a paper bag that had been taped shut in my direction. I took it from him, and began to rip through it. As soon as I had the first glimpse of what the gift was, I wrapped it back up again, shooting Gladio an unimpressed look. 

“What is it?” Prompto asked, leaning over a little further. 

With a sigh, I ripped open the bag, and pulled out a bottle of green liquid, holding it up towards him. It was the same apple flavoured drink that we’d gotten drunk off at the same spot in Hammerhead when I’d first left Insomnia. I wasn’t sure if my stomach was turning at the idea of drinking it again, or if I felt happy that he’d remembered something so stupid.

“Hey, you should be grateful,” Gladio told me, frowning a little. “That stuff isn’t easy to come across nowadays.”

“Thank you, Gladio,” I teased, shooting him a grin. “I’m sure we can all enjoy this a little later.”

Next, another box was nudged my direction. This time, I looked up to see Ignis smiling at me. I picked the box up, and it was a lot heavier than I was anticipating. I hauled it onto my lap, and tore the paper away, revealing a large, brown wooden box that was beautiful enough on its own. 

“Don’t forget to open the box,” he told me.

I did as he told me to, the lid of the box creaking just slightly. What was in the box confused me slightly. Inside was a set of simple looking daggers that gleamed in the artificial light of Hammerhead. I picked one up, holding it’s hefty form in front of me as I examined it. 

“I used those when I was first training,” he suddenly told me. “They were gifted to me by my uncle, and I’d like to pass them on to you.”

I frowned at him, although he couldn’t see my confusion.

“I don’t think I really understand,” I murmured. “Or really, I don’t understand why you’d give me something so important.”

“Because it’s my wish that you have the means to defend yourself if needed. I understand that you’ve not had any training yourself, but they’re easy to use, I assure you.”

He sounded so sincere as he spoke. I quickly placed the dagger back in the box and put it on the table, pushing myself out of my chair to give him a tight hug. He made a sound of surprise as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but thank you. I promise I’ll take care of them,” I whispered slightly. 

“Don’t promise me that. Promise me you’ll use them if you need to,” he said, equally as hushed. I nodded slightly, knowing that he’d feel it as my head was beside his. I pulled away slightly, looking at his smiling face. “Though, if you don’t need them, I’ve found them to be quite the effective good luck charm.”

“I’ll take it you didn’t have them with you in Altissia,” I joked as I sat myself back down. Both Prompto and Gladio looked horrified by my somewhat morbid joke, but Ignis chuckled. 

“I’ll have you know, I did not have them with me, thank you very much,” he quipped back, still a slight laugh to his voice. 

“You should save Prompto’s gift for last,” Gladio suddenly piped up as he shoved another box towards me, this one much, much larger than Ignis’. I quickly pulled it towards me and began to work at the paper.

It wasn’t long before I was sat with a large box in front of me, and it was completely packed with all sorts of goodies that Amarantha had sent for me. There was an array of different coloured bath bombs, small bottles of bubble baths and shower gels that all had their own unique scents. 

On top of all of the things sat a clear jar, a tag tied around the lid. I pulled it towards me squinting slightly to read the note.

‘Happy Birthday! I hope you have an amazing day, and use these few presents to pamper yourself. You work hard, so take some time to relax when you can. I love you so much. Thanks for being my best friend. Amarantha.’

I noticed that there was more writing on the back of the label as I turned it.

‘This jar is something for you to fill with your dreams and wishes. Make sure to fill them up with Prompto and me. We’ve got a bright future ahead of us! (One day, I hope)’

I almost started tearing up at the note, thankful that she was so lovely and thoughtful. I wish I could have gone back in time to tell my younger self that I had a good life ahead of me, with friends better than the ones I had in school, like Medea. 

I sniffed a little bit before picking the jar up, noticing that underneath was a reel of paper that were decorated like fairground tickets. On the back of the first one was yet another note from her.

‘Write your wishes on these! If you don’t mind, put this one in the jar. Let’s go on vacation when this is all over!’

I grinned at the message, before I looked back up to Gladio, glaring at him.

“You have to look after her. I’ll kill you myself if you don’t,” I warned him, and he beamed back at me. 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” he responded. 

I closed the large box of gifts from my best friend and sat back down. That was when Prompto picked his gift up and held it towards me. He looked hesitant to give it to me. He looked to Ignis, and then to Gladio. 

“Could you two give us a minute?” he asked, his voice small. 

The two men across from us nodded, and climbed out of their seats again, wandering towards what was once Takka’s diner. Once they were safely out of earshot, he handed me the gift, wrapped in an intricately designed blue paper. Once it was in my hands, he smiled at me, although it was small. 

“This is kind of a weird gift,” he mumbled. 

I looked at it in my hands, and I could tell that it was another box of a description. I carefully peeled the paper away, hoping to preserve a little piece of it to put in the scrapbook that was slowly getting close to full. Sure enough, it was another wooden box, this one embossed with brass around the edges. 

Slowly, I lifted the lid, and was completely confused by the contents. It must have had thousands of gil tucked away inside. It seemed like it had been crammed inside to the point that it was spilling over the edges of the box as I opened it. I quickly placed my hand on top of it to try and keep it all in it’s container. 

“I know you really don’t get it,” he chuckled. “But everything I’ve earned while I’ve been hunting, I’ve saved. This is some of it.”

I looked at him blankly, wondering if there was more to his words.

“Why have you been saving it?” I asked slowly.

“Because I don’t have anything I need right now. But in the future I want to make sure that you have everything you want and need,” he sighed, placing his hand on my knee again. 

I didn’t really know what to say as I looked at the money in front of me. 

“This is just like a deposit,” he continued. “Kinda like proof that I’m thinking about what happens later. Or just so you know that I want to be with you. I just couldn’t think of another way to prove it.”

I quickly shut the top of the box, luckily nothing spilling out. I almost slammed it on the table in my haste to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a hug. I figured that there weren’t any words for me to explain how I felt, but I thought that maybe I could show how thankful I was through gestures. 

“You can save it if you want, or you can spend it if you need anything. You have to accept it because it’s a gift,” he carried on as his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me into sit on his lap. 

He clearly had a lot more faith in the strength of the patio furniture than I did. 

“I love you,” I mumbled into the crook of his neck. “Sorry I’m so weird all the time.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” he reassured me, and I could tell that he was smiling from his voice. “And I love you. No matter what happens, I always will.”

I couldn’t understand why he loved me, still. I didn’t know what it was about me that made him think I was special. But at least for that moment, I nodded and accepted that that was just how things were. That was how he felt, regardless of if I understood it or not. 

That had to be enough for now. I still couldn’t wait for the day that the sunlight returned, though. At least that would let us be together again for longer than a day or two. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments on the last chapter and the kudos that keeps popping up for some reason. I'm hoping that I can wrap this whole thing up soon, so hopefully it won't be too much longer before this thing is done. I'm all kinds of excited and nervous and sad.


	33. Chapter 33

My birthday wasn’t too terribly exciting, but I felt happy enough to be with Prompto, Gladio and Ignis. We spent the day talking with one another, and as the time dragged onwards to what would be dusk, we started sipping at the apple flavoured drink that Gladio had bought me for my birthday. 

We reminisced about what life used to be like, and when Noct was around. We laughed at how Noct had been so forward about pushing me and Prompto together, or we’d talk about the meals we had in my apartment, giggling at the image of Gladio having his legs waxed, or Ignis having his face decorated with make up. 

It was strange, and nostalgic to think back on those halcyon days where everything was so much more simple, and much happier. We talked about what we thought would happen in the future, and one thing I noticed was that it wasn’t just Prompto who was adamant that Noct would return. It was all three of them. 

I hoped that I’d see him again. I really wanted to thank him for having my back even though we hardly knew each other. I couldn’t remember if I’d thanked him for anything, so I really wanted the chance to make sure I did. 

By the time we were all starting to get rather sleepy, the alcohol had had a small effect on the four of us. We weren’t drunk, just a little tipsy. Tipsy enough to be laughing rather loudly without much regard for anyone around us. It wasn’t exactly a celebration, but it was rather nice to be with good company.

As it fell into what would have been nighttime, I shivered slightly, suddenly realising how cold it was in Hammerhead. It definitely made me miss the warmth of Lestallum that seemed to rise from the ground. 

“You want to go in?” Prompto asked, and I nodded. 

“I’m not used to this kind of cold,” I said as I stood up. I began to gather up the things that were left on the table. “Besides I should try and make sure I have everything packed up before we leave tomorrow.”

“Bright and early, don’t forget,” Gladio chuckled. “And it’ll be a pretty tight fit. Ignis is coming with us.”

“Cool. Another person to help me carry all this stuff back to my apartment,” I grinned as I balanced the huge Moogle plush on top of the boxes I’d been given. Ignis and Gladio both gave a small scoff at my statement, but gave me small waves as I turned and managed to stumble into the trailer. 

Prompto was following closely behind me, making sure that the door to his humble home was locked as I placed everything down on the floor. I sighed as I sat cross legged on the small couch that was tucked against one of the walls. 

This trip hadn’t been all too great at the start, but slowly it had somewhat repaired itself. I couldn’t say that it had been entirely worth it because I knew I’d be leaving with a little more doubt than I had before. But I felt a lot more at ease once I’d been given the box from Prompto. It was like his weird way of promising me that he was working towards something better for the two of us. 

It was enough to make me smile as I packed away the smaller things in my backpack, but it still left me with the large box from Amarantha and the Moogle plush from Iris that would have to go on my lap. I felt like I was in for a very uncomfortable journey home.

By the time I’d arranged everything in my bag, Prompto was already lying on the bed, yawning after what must have felt like a long and tiring day. I hadn’t asked how long he’d been awake for by the time I woke up. I quickly changed into my pyjamas and curled up alongside him, wrapping my arm around his stomach and giving him a tight squeeze. 

He gave out a happy hum as his hand moved slightly to draw patterns into my back as he always did. He yawned again as he turned to me, bringing me just a little bit closer. It wasn’t exactly hard to be that far apart in such a small bed, but I felt comforted by the feeling of him so close. 

“I’ll try and make next year a bit better,” he mumbled, half asleep already. 

Before I had the chance to respond, he was fast asleep, his mouth hanging open slightly as his breathing became steady. I didn’t mind so much as it gave me a little while just to look at his peaceful face as we held each other closely. He was so adorable that it made me want to cry. 

It was against my will that I fell asleep not long after him. I fought against my heavy eyelids for as long as I could because I wanted to appreciate him being so close by, but it was all in vain as I drifted into a deep slumber. 

 

_ _

_ As I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar flowers again. Their bright blues and yellows danced gracefully in the gentle breeze, and I couldn’t help but let out a long, elated sigh as I watched them. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my bare skin, and it felt healing. _

_ I tore my gaze away from them at the sound ahead of me. I could see Prompto’s beaming smile, aimed straight towards me. It wasn’t just Prompto who was looking at me. He was surrounded by his friends. Gladio was on one side, Noctis on the other. Beside Noctis, stood Ignis, looking at me through his brilliant green eyes. All of them smiling towards me.  _

_ I stood up straight, beaming back at the group of friends. _

_ Prompto offered his hand to me, keeping his arm out straight towards me. It was as if he was offering me a place beside him, like I mattered to him just as much as Noctis did. With a small laugh, I reached my hand out towards his, hoping to grasp it. As I stepped forward once, I didn’t feel as if I was any closer to finding the warmth from his palm. _

_ I frowned slightly, yet felt undeterred.  _

_ Another step, yet I was no closer. _

_ My steps became quicker, more hurried as I tried desperately to find his hand. But with every step I took, he seemed to get further away.  _

_ I couldn’t understand it. He was offering me a place beside him, yet he was pulling away. _

_ Why was that? _

_ “Prompto?” _

_ I knew I’d said his name, but my voice came out as if it was stifled. Almost as if I was underwater and smothered by the space around me. I wasn’t sure that he’d heard me, but I knew that he’d seen my mouth move. _

_ He frowned at me, like he was trying to figure out what was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  _

_ I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that I could focus enough to bring him closer to me. _

_ That was when I felt his hand clasp mine.  _

_ My eyes shot open, my face beaming as I felt the hand pull me forward slightly.  _

_ The sun had gone; hidden behind a veil of black clouds that had began to let down a cascade of cold raindrops that felt like they burned my bare skin as they hit it.  _

_ I looked at the hand, and it was unfamiliar. It didn’t belong to Prompto.  _

_ Instead, it belonged to a man with purple hair, an evil, toothy grin on his face that looked as if it had been half eaten by the darkness. _

_ “You…” _

_ What was his name again? _

_ Ardyn? _

_ Was that right? _

_ I tried to pull away from him, his his hand was grasping my own like a vice.  _

_ I closed my eyes again, desperately trying to put all of my strength into getting away from this horrible creature. He scared me. _

_ It was then that I felt myself being yanked forward again, this time much more harshly than the last. My eyes opened again. _

_ I saw Prompto again, holding onto my hand tightly. He was smiling slightly as I felt something press into my sternum. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I looked down to see a gun pressed into my body. It seemed to have a glimmer to it as I looked at it.  _

_ I felt panic start to well up within me, but I knew I couldn’t escape the grasp on my hand. _

_ “Prompto.” _

_ My voice was pleading, and his face seemed as if it was vacant of any emotion.  _

_ He didn’t show happiness or relief. He didn’t show sadness or regret. He didn’t show anger. He didn’t show anything to me. _

_ “Please, don’t do this.” _

_ Then, he smiled. He smiled so unlike he usually did.  _

_ Suddenly, a gunshot tore through the air. _

_ _

I woke up my jolting up in bed, gasping for air as if I’d been drowning. Regardless of how cold it was, I was sweating profusely as I took notice of my surroundings. 

Prompto was lying next to me, his eyes wide as if I’d scared him slightly.

I was still in Hammerhead. It was a dream. It was just a dream. A fucked up dream, but just a dream. 

I let out a long breath as I clutched my head. 

“Are you alright?” Prompto asked me as he sat up beside me, placing a hand on the small of my back. 

“Sorry,” I said, my voice quivering. “Did I wake you up?”

“No,” he smiled. “I’ve been awake for a while now.” His voice sounded tired, and a little more distant than usual. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“Yeah,” I breathed. “It’s fine.” My hands were shaking, and I tried to steady them. It didn’t seem to work, so I just folded them on my lap. “What time is it?”

“About 8am,” he answered, still sounding distant. “Can we talk for a minute?”

His question immediately frightened me, so I nodded, but slowly.

“Are your dreams about me?” he asked, a hint of sadness dripping from his question.

“Yeah,” I mumbled. I didn’t want to say anymore than that. He nodded slightly before he swung his legs out of the bed and planted them on the floor.

“I need to start getting ready,” he said. “I’m going out on a hunt after you leave.”

He gathered his Crownsguard uniform up and quickly began to change into it. I knew he had something that he was throwing around in his mind, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. He was acting strange, even for him. He was terrible at hiding his emotions. 

I just watched him quietly as he adjusted his jacket, straightening it up as he was turned away from me. When he let out a long, loud sigh, I felt sick. I slowly moved so that I was sat on the edge of the bed. 

He didn’t seem to move for a few minutes. When he did, he turned to me, a wry smile on his face. With another long sigh, he knelt down in front of me, putting his hands on my legs to steady himself. I saw the tears that were already building in the corners of his eyes, and at that moment, I felt completely hopeless. 

“I love you,” he reminded me, taking my hand in his and giving it a slight squeeze. “I love you so much.”

“But?” I asked, my voice small behind the lump that had lodged itself in my throat. 

He bit his lip as he thought about what it was that he wanted to say. 

“I don’t know that we should be together right now,” he said slowly, a single tear falling out of the corner of his eye and spilling down his cheek. 

I could practically feel the colour drain out of my face as I stared at him, hoping and wishing that this was a joke. A terrible, unfunny prank or something. I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say, and I knew that my voice would only come out as a mere squeak if I did.

Carefully he brought my hand to his mouth and pressed a firm kiss on the back of my knuckles before he rested his forehead against my knee. 

“I don’t understand,” I finally managed to say. 

“You know, you deserve so much,” he started, sniffling slightly as he raised his head up to look at me. “You deserve more than what I can give you.”

I shook my head at him, which was the only sign of protest I could give as I felt burning hot tears began to sting my eyes. 

“You deserve more than a boyfriend who gives you bad dreams,” he murmured, and in that moment, I could have sworn I saw his heart break. 

“But I want you,” I tried to argue, but my voice was so small.

“I know that, but I can’t look after you when you have dreams like this at home. I can’t do anything from here. I can’t walk you home from work, or take you on dates or look after you when you’re sick,” he explained, more tears sliding down his face. “You deserve someone who can do that for you. Right now, that isn’t me.”

“Then why did you give me that gift yesterday? I thought we were okay,” I said, looking to my backpack. The box full of gil that he’d given me as a promise for the future was tucked inside. I couldn’t work out why he’d given me something that held such weight and value if he’d had the idea of breaking up with me. 

“Because I’m talking about  _ right now _ ,” he sniffed. “ _ Right now _ , I can’t be the person that you deserve. And I’m giving you the chance to find someone who can be better for you than me.”

“I thought you said you loved me,” I whimpered.

“I do,” he told me, sternness in his voice. “I can promise you that I do.”

“Then I don’t understand,” I said adamantly.

“Rena,” he sighed, his whole posture slumping slightly. “I’m doing this  _ because  _ I love you.”

I still didn’t understand. I wondered if this was his way of getting out of our relationship as kindly as he could so that he was free to be with Cidney. The thought broke my heart, but I couldn’t argue against him. I couldn’t shout at him, and accuse him of lying because I was terrified of what he’d say.

He tugged on my hand again, as if he was trying to catch my attention. 

“I just don’t want to make you wait for me anymore,” he continued. “But when this is all done, I’m going to come back to Lestallum.”

I looked up at him, frowning slightly. By this point, tears were flowing down my cheeks and I made no attempt to hide them as I sat before him. 

“I’m going to come back to Lestallum, and I’m going to fight for you if I have to. I’ll be a better person then, and I can make good on all those promises I made.”

“Then what’s the point?” I asked, swallowing my emotions for a second. “Why are you breaking up with me when you’re going to come back later?”

“Because I can’t be the reason that you’re sad and alone. I just can’t.”

I nodded slightly, unsure if he was telling the truth or not. I didn’t have the will or the energy to argue with him. Instead, I just wiped at my face, wishing I’d never come back to Hammerhead. I couldn’t say anything. I knew if I did, I’d break. It seemed that Prompto felt the same way as we found ourselves in another long silence. 

Eventually, there was a loud knock on the trailer door. 

Wiping at his own face, Prompto let out a sigh before he leant just a little closer to the door.

“Yeah?” he shouted. 

“Is she nearly ready to go?” The voice on the other side belonged to Gladio who was completely unaware of the situation. 

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I shouted back to him, reaching for the pile of clothes that were at the foot of the bed. I wanted to get home as fast as I possibly could, and just curl up in bed and cry. I couldn’t move far because Prompto was quick to catch me by the shoulders and haul himself up. He leant over slightly so that he could look me straight in the eyes.

Although they were glassy, he was looking at me seriously. For a moment, he hesitated. Then, he leant forward, pressing his lips to mine in a chaste kiss that tasted salty from the tears that had caught his lips as they trailed down his face.

It was as if he was saying goodbye to me, at least for a while.

That was what broke my heart. 

I could have sworn I felt it shatter in my chest, and burst into a million pieces. 

As he pulled away, I felt my lip wobble as I tried to hold back a disgusting sob. It was impossible. I just crumbled in front of him, burying my head in my hands as I desperately tried to stop myself. 

I couldn’t believe a word he was saying. 

I was a burden to him. I wasn’t the one he wanted to be with. That was all I could believe. 

I thought of how my life was like in Insomnia. At the very least, with my complete lack of disregard for my own well being, I hadn’t felt heartbreak like this. I supposed that was what I got for even dreaming to care about someone. 

The ride back to Lestallum was awful. I was squashed against the door to the truck with Ignis sat next to me, my birthday gifts on my lap that brought me absolutely no joy. Gladio and Ignis had both suspected that something was wrong, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk to them from the moment I saw them that morning.

Instead, for the hours that I was trapped in the truck, I looked out of the window, trying to take in all of the daemons that roamed the landscape. I thought that maybe the sight of them would scare me into thinking of something else. Instead, I could only think of Prompto, and how he must have fought these things hundreds of times by now. 

I wanted to stop thinking about him more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life. 

I was thankful that neither of the men in the truck with me questioned it. And I was even more thankful when we finally pulled into the safety of the lights of Lestallum. 

Once Gladio had pulled up and parked his truck, I was quick to clamber out of it all too ungracefully, quickly pulling my backpack on and balancing the box of gifts with the plush doll. I gave a small nod towards Gladio before I started to walk off, not saying a word to either of them. 

“Didn’t you want help?” Gladio shouted after me. 

I didn’t even turn to respond. I just kept walking as if I’d never heard him. I could only hope he’d understand when he learnt what happened. 

I quickly marched through the streets, managing to keep myself together as I did so. I just wanted to get home, and then I could cry all I wanted. That’s what I told myself, anyway. 

By the time I made it back to my apartment, and was lying on my bed, looking at the ceiling of the room, I just felt numb. I couldn’t cry, or scream, or do anything. I just lay there, letting everything sink in. I couldn’t even say how long I stayed there for.

I wasn’t sure if time was moving by slower than usual.

What was I supposed to do?

The only thing that moved me was the sudden knocking at my front door. The sound of it made me jump as there were these loud thuds on the wood. I hauled myself up and shuffled over to the door, wondering who it could have been. 

I opened the door just an inch to see Gladio stood on the other side, nervously biting on his nails. He looked more terrified than I’d ever seen him before. Before I even had the chance to speak, his head was peering through the door, his eyes frantically darting around the empty room behind me.

“Is Amarantha with you?” he asked quickly.

“No?” I half asked. “Was she not at home?”

He shook his head, pulling his phone out of his pocket and quickly tapping away at the screen. 

I quickly left the door and walked over to the kitchen where I kept my keys for the bar. It was only around 4pm by the time he was stood at my door, but I had every faith that she’d be at work, helping the boss with taking stock or something equally as dull.

“Her phone isn’t on,” Gladio growled, sounding more than frustrated. 

“She’s probably at work. She always turns her phone off when it’s in her locker,” I told him firmly, trying to calm him down somewhat. I scooped up my keys and was quickly shoving my feet into my shoes that had been kicked off on my way to the bed. “We can go now.”

He was pacing behind me as I turned to lock my front door, and when I turned to him, he was already walking down the street at a speedy walking pace. I had to jog slightly to keep up with his large, goliath-like steps. 

He didn’t say a word to me as we walked. He looked as if he was going through every worst case scenario in his head. It was almost enough to bring a smile out of me. I was so happy that she had someone who cared for her as much as he did. 

It was only a few short minutes before we were at the back entrance of the bar, and I was fumbling with the lock. I was a lot calmer than Gladio was, as he took to pacing again; just walking back and forth nervously as I unlocked the door.

As soon as the door was open, I started to worry. Usually, there would be light conversation flowing throughout the premises while the staff took to doing their work in preparation for opening. Instead, the hallway was completely silent, and dim. The only light that I could see seemed to be coming from the bosses office.

I took off running towards the light as soon as the door was open, Gladio following just a step behind me. Our footsteps were eerily loud as we clattered down the hallways, and they seemed to bounce off of the walls. 

We came to a stop outside the boss’ office, both catching our breath a little bit as I opened the door, not even bothering to knock. My boss was hunched over the desk, clutching his head with his hands, a cigarette lit in between his fingers. He slowly looked up at the two of us, his face pale.

Something had happened. Something had happened and I could feel myself freeze up in fear.

“Is Amarantha here?” Gladio asked. His voice was quieter than before, like he’d had the same realisation. 

A grim look passed the boss’ face as we looked at him.

“She hasn’t been to work all weekend,” he said, his voice nervous. “She never called to say that she wasn’t coming in either. I can’t get in touch with her.”

The silence that followed was awful. All three of us were now at a complete loss as to what to do, or what to say. 

“She’s not at home, is she?” the boss finally asked.

“I don’t know where she is,” Gladio said in a low voice. “I have to find her.”

With that, he quickly turned and walked away from the office. He walked towards the back door, his footsteps echoing as he left. I wasn’t sure if I should chase after him, or if I should have gone looking for her, or what would have been for the best.

“We’re going to be closed for the rest of the week,” my boss finally said. “Just until I can figure out how I can keep my staff safe.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling there was more going on than I’d first thought.

“It wasn’t just Amarantha who didn’t show up this weekend. Irene is nowhere to be found. Same can be said for Lucas. He showed up on Friday and I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”

I wasn’t particularly friends with either of the others. I’d talked with Irene on a few occasions as we were both on breaks in the locker room, and she was definitely one of the more popular performers at the bar. As for Lucas, he was this brown haired man that reminded me of Ignis in a lot of ways. He was calm, and collected, and always had this professional air around him. He was just a lot less friendly. 

I leant on the door frame as I tried to take in everything, completely unsure as to what I should do. Was it even safe for me to go home on my own?

I just looked at the cigarette that was lit in his fingers, watching as it slowly burned away and turned to ash. I hadn’t had a cigarette for years. It was actually since I before I left Insomnia as I desperately tried to save every gil I could to get out of there. 

After a day like the one I’d had, there was nothing more appealing to me in the world. 

I slowly and carefully stepped away from the door frame, eventually finding my way to the chair across from his and slipping into it. Either way, I needed a bit to sit down to try and think of what to do.

“Can I have one of those?” I asked, pointing to the pack that was sat on the desk.

He looked up at me and frowned. For a second, he looked as if he was going to lecture me, and tell me off for not wanting to take good care of my voice. But once he caught sight of my expression, his gaze softened slightly. He nudged the packet over towards me and I quickly plucked them up and took one out of the packet. 

It was only then that I realised how much my hands were shaking. I was somehow keeping myself together, though part of me was just in a state of complete disbelief at how badly the day had gone. 

I didn’t hesitate too much when it came to having the cigarette. It was rather quickly in between my lips, and I’d almost expertly managed to light it within seconds of striking a single match that was previously folded up in the matchbook on the desk.

It made me feel about a hundred times worse. As soon as I inhaled, I felt the nicotine hit me almost like it had plunged to the pit of my stomach. And there was no immediate relief. There was little that a single cigarette could do for my nerves, and my worries, and there was nothing it would do for the anger at how unfair everything was that was bubbling in the back of my mind.

Once the initial sickness had worn off, I just felt as if I wanted to go home. 

More than anything, I wanted to talk to Prompto because I knew that he always had a way of reassuring me that everything was okay. Though, it seemed inappropriate to call him considering he wasn’t my boyfriend anymore. 

Instead, I thanked my boss for the cigarette, and I left. 

It was still early enough that the streets were busy and I felt safe enough to walk home, though my thoughts felt as if they were holding me back and weighing me down. I found myself at the nearest store, dishing out more gil than was reasonable for a packet of menthol cigarettes and a bottle of wine. Then it was back to my apartment where I sat on the couch watching television, smoking and drinking until late into the night. Late enough that I fell asleep on the couch, drunk enough to have a hangover the next morning.

It was two days later that Amarantha was officially declared missing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself. I couldn't respond to that many comments from the last chapter without giving anything away and I actually hate myself, haha. Ha.


	34. Chapter 34

I hated sleeping. 

It was almost as soon as Amarantha had disappeared, and Prompto and I had stopped talking that it became unbearable, and something I avoided for as long as I could. 

I wasn’t sure if it was every night, but it felt like it. Every night, I had dreams of that field of blue and yellow flowers. Every night they would decay at my feet, and I would sink into the disgusting mud that lay below them. 

I’d see so many people I knew. My parents, who were just these faceless entities who gazed at me as if they were ashamed. My friends from school who would sneer at me out of disgust. Medea was always at the forefront of them, laughing and jeering at me as I went past them, leaving a trail of dead flowers in my wake. I’d see the blurry faces of those I met in Insomnia, and they too laughed at me, as if I was some huge joke. And really I was.

Then, I would see Gladio, who couldn’t even look at me anymore. His eyes would stay fixed on the ground below him as he appeared to be in the deepest stage of grief that existed. 

Next, I would see Ignis, sat on the floor, blood streaming down his face as he gripped at his eyes. There was nothing I could do to help him, so I would just keep walking beyond him, knowing he couldn’t see me to judge me. 

Then, there would be Noctis. The prince whose disappearance had changed everything. He’d hardly be there. His whole appearance was ghost like, as if he’d become this other worldly being that lived in a different plane of existence to me. He was looking towards me, but it felt like he was looking through me. 

Then, there would be Amarantha. She was the only one who looked at me with a smile; genuine and bright, just like she was. She’d say things towards me, but I could never quite distinguish what it was she was saying. 

Last, Prompto would be stood in front of me. He stood there, his back turned to me. No matter how much I shouted to him, trying to get his attention, he wouldn’t move. He never faltered. He just looked out in front of him as if I’d never said a word. 

When I realised that he wasn’t listening to me, I’d crumple down into the mud, unable to keep in my tears. And as my tears slid down my cheeks, they burned like they were made of acid. Then the flowers in the field would slowly die, spreading out from me as if I was the epicentre of everything that had gone wrong.

It was like my dreams were reminding me that everything I touched turned to dirt in my fingers until all that was left were these stains on my hands that I couldn’t wash away. 

Every night the dream would be the same, and it would pull me out of my slumber with a slight gasp, followed by this feeling of emptiness. 

Since that day that Prompto and I had last spoken, and the day when Amarantha went missing, I felt as if I was missing my purpose in life. I mean, what was there that I was supposed to look forward to? How many years would it be until I could leave Lestallum safely and wander around the world like I yearned to? Would I even live to see it?

After living for so long in the darkness, it was easy to lose the idea of it being temporary. 

Prompto had been so adamant for so long that when Noctis came back, he would fix everything somehow, and we’d be able to live as we did before. It was so easy to lose sight of that hope, especially when we hadn’t talked in months. 

I lay in bed for a long while on that particular morning, not feeling as if I had the energy to even get up to make myself breakfast, or a cup of tea. I just didn’t want to move. 

I had work later that evening, but it was still the morning, and there was nothing I had to do other than just sustain myself. I couldn’t even bring myself to do that anymore. I was just existing as I looked up at the ceiling that had become slightly yellowed from the nicotine. 

Why was just existing so hard?

Eventually, I did haul myself out of bed. I was trying to tell myself that both Prompto and Amarantha would be sad to see me in such a state, but it didn’t do that much to will me forward. It did enough to get me out of bed on that day. 

It had been seven months since my birthday. Every day I felt like I was losing just a little bit more of myself. I chuckled to myself as I thought about it. I really was pathetic, and I depended on other people too much. I always had, really. 

I took it one step at a time. Once I’d gotten out of bed, I took a shower. The lukewarm water ran over me, and it felt nice. So I stood there for the better part of an hour, looking up at the shower head, almost entranced by the way the water flowed. 

After that, I felt like I’d accomplished a lot. I felt happy with myself for a few moments before deciding that there were other things I could do. 

I made myself two slices of toast, putting far too much butter on them for it to be even remotely good for me. I also made a cup of tea with more sugar in than was necessary. The sweetness of the tea reminded me of Prompto. He always wanted it far too sweet for any normal person to enjoy. 

Once I’d eaten, and drank my tea, I felt good about my day. I’d really pushed myself. I’d done a lot, I thought. But I could do more. 

So I did more. I put a load of laundry on that must have been piling up for weeks. I was running low on everything, so it was good that I did it. 

Once that was done, I sat myself on the windowsill, and edged the window open slightly so that I could have my first cigarette of the morning. I knew that it was a habit that I needed to kick before I saw Prompto or Amarantha again, but for the moment, it gave me a little comfort. That was what I needed more than anything. 

After that, I lit one of the scented candles I had to try and get rid of the lingering smell of smoke, and I sat down on the couch. I still had a long while before I had to go to work. So I flicked the television on, watching an episode of a show that I must have seen ten times by now. 

I wasn’t really watching it, per se. It was just on, and I was looking at it. But that was it. I wasn’t taking in any of the words that were being said or the soundtrack that was playing. The lights were a nice distraction. 

By the time the episode was done, so was the washer. I left the television on as I hung the damp clothes on the radiators around my apartment. I felt accomplished once it was all done. I hadn’t done so much in a long time, or at least it felt like it. 

Whenever I actually managed to do things that went beyond my basic existence, I felt that, for however briefly, there was a little hope for me. 

I continued doing things for the rest of the day. They were only small things, like clearing away the books that hadn’t quite made their way onto the bookshelf in the corner of the room, or clearing out the empty bottles from around the shower that had piled up. Small things, but they meant something to me. 

It at least meant I was trying. 

After a long few hours of cleaning and getting myself ready for work, there was a knock at my door. I looked at the clock, thinking it was a little early for anyone to be showing up. I shrugged off the thought, and walked over to the door. I pulled it open to see a very tired looking Gladio on the other side. 

He didn’t say anything to me at first. He just looked at me, his eyes holding a certain sadness in them that I wasn’t sure that I could understand. Slowly, he shook his head. 

He’d been out of Lestallum for days as far as I knew, trying to find just a trace of Amarantha. The more time that passed, the less likely it seemed that she’d come back, and I think Gladio was the one who was the most aware of that. 

I opened the door wider so that he could come inside, and slowly, he shoved himself off of the door frame and wandered over to the couch. He let out a loud sigh once he was sat down.

“Ignis said he was busy today, so I’ll be walking you to work,” he said, rubbing his face slightly. 

“You’re a bit early,” I told him. “And you look exhausted. You should get a nap in while I get ready.”

“That would actually be perfect right now.”

He didn’t say anything else. He just slumped to the side, resting his head on the arm of the couch and closing his eyes. It seemed like mere seconds before he was fast asleep. I made myself busy in the bathroom, getting ready. 

I took it one step at a time as I did everything else in my life nowadays. If it was just one thing at a time, it felt more manageable. First, I changed into my uniform, wiping off the few hairs that had found themselves clung to the white of my shirt. After that, I took a little while dealing with my hair, winding it into a fishtail braid that flowed over my shoulder, and making sure that any stray bits of hair were pinned down. Then, I took a little longer doing my make up, making sure that I was as presentable as I could be. 

After I’d done everything, I was just about ready to get myself to work and I’d have a few minutes to compose myself in the locker room before I had to have my best smile on. It was like acting in a way. I could show a smile to any customers that may have wandered into the bar, and I could chat with them about whatever it was they wanted to chat about when it was quiet. 

It was good for me in a way. I thought that maybe if I just carried on acting as if everything was okay as much as I could, eventually I’d think that I actually was happy. It hadn’t worked so far, but a lot had gone horribly wrong rather quickly. 

By the time I was done, Gladio was still fast asleep on the couch. I felt awful waking him up to walk me to work, which all in all, was about as safe as I could be on my own. No one ever went missing while Lestallum was still busy. At least that was what I told myself. 

So instead of waking him up, I wrote him a note, telling him that I’d gone to work and that he should meet me there when he was more rested. I left a key behind so that he could lock up, and with that, I made my way to work. 

I was glad that regardless of everything, the bar was still quite busy for a lot of places in Lestallum. Even almost six years after the sunlight had vanished, people still needed their beer and food to keep their spirits uplifted, and the music certainly made this place unique and appealing. 

It meant I got to keep my job, and keep my apartment. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was that I’d do if I lost either of those things because they were two of the only remaining things that I cared about. Though, at least for me, since Amarantha had disappeared, the place had a different atmosphere than before. 

Work went by unhindered for a few hours. I poured drinks for those who ordered them. I talked with those who sat at the bar, looking as if they needed a good conversation. I did my job, trying my best to smile. 

With an hour to go before my shift was due to end, a familiar figure entered the bar, his face almost panicked, eyes wide as they darted around the room for a second. Then he caught eyes with me, and his whole body sank as if he felt relieved. 

“You should have woken me up,” he said, his voice edging on anger, but really it showed more relief than anything else. He sat down on the nearest bar stool to the wall and let out a long breath. 

“I can get to work on my own fine,” I told him. “Besides, you looked completely exhausted. I felt bad waking you up.”

“Still, you should have woken me up. I already failed Amarantha. I don’t want anything to happen to you as well,” he said, resting his head in his hands. As he talked, I poured him his usual drink and placed it on the bar in front of him. 

“You didn’t fail her,” I tried to reassure him. He scoffed, telling me he didn’t believe a word I was saying. “If anything, it was me. I shouldn’t have gone to Hammerhead in the first place. I should have listened to her.”

“Right, and then instead of just her being gone, it’d be the two of you,” he argued. He reached over for his glass and took a few long gulps of the almost golden liquid in front of him. “Don’t be dumb.”

“I mean, there are other reasons that I shouldn’t have gone to Hammerhead. It’s not just that.”

“Right, whatever happened between you and Prompto. That you still won’t talk about.”

“There’s no need to talk about it,” I bit back. “Things didn’t work out, that’s all you need to know.”

I knew that the persona of the cheerful barmaid that I was supposed to adorn at all times when I was at work was faltering from the mention of his name. At least Ignis knew better than to bring him up. 

“Right, right. He’s a total idiot if you ask me,” he said, and I couldn’t help but frown at him. 

“Enjoy your drink. I’m going to go on my break,” I said, just wanting the conversation to end. I managed a small smile at him before I ducked out past the other girl working the bar with me, giving her a tap on the shoulder to let her know I’d be a few minutes.

As usual on my breaks now, I found myself in the boss’ office, smoking a cigarette with him in silence. We hadn’t really had anything to talk about in a long while that didn’t involve work. It wasn’t uncomfortable. He’d invite me in when he saw me waiting outside, nudge his packet of cigarettes to me along with a matchbook. Then we’d just sit there as we tried to find some kind of relief from the stress of the world. 

By the time I came back to the bar, busying myself with clearing things up, Gladio was glaring at me, beckoning me over. 

“You know you should really quit that,” he hissed at me. 

“What are you talking about?” I asked, a little confused. 

“You stink of cigarettes. Your apartment does as well. Quit it.”

“Look, if Ignis can lay off the lectures, I think you can do the same,” I sighed, rolling my eyes at him. “Besides, it makes me feel better.”

“Whatever you say. I just know that both Amarantha and Prompto would be disappointed in you, that’s all.”

I felt angry at his words, and grabbed fistfuls of the skirt of my uniform as I tried to quell it slightly.

“Can you just, like, leave?” I asked him, trying to keep my composure. “I don’t need to hear that from you. Just let me do my own thing, please.”

He sighed, but shook his head. 

“I need to walk you home. I’m sorry. I just… I don’t know.”

“You’ve just never been good at words before?” I half asked, and he chuckled slightly. 

“Yeah. I’ve never been good at words and feelings and stuff,” he agreed, smirking at me slightly. “Sorry, I at least started thinking that I shouldn’t have said that. Just after I’d said it.”

“I guess that’s an improvement. Good job, I suppose.”

He chuckled again, finding his beer and finishing off the dregs of the drink. He pushed the empty glass slightly towards me as he carried on smirking just a little bit.

“You want another one?” I asked, and he nodded, resting his head on his hand as he watched me get him a second drink. 

“Hey, when’s your next day off?” he asked as I returned with his drink. 

“Tomorrow. I don’t work on weekends anymore,” I told him. 

“Wanna go out for a few drinks?” he asked. As soon as he asked, there was a loud slam from one of the tables that was just tucked around one of the walls that separated the bar from the restaurant. I frowned towards the sound as one of the waitresses rushed over, looking as if she was trying to help someone up off of the floor. I guessed that someone had gotten just a little too drunk. 

The sound had caught everyone’s attention, Gladio’s included. I felt almost sorry for whoever the source of the noise was. It was probably pretty embarrassing to have an entire bar go silent because of you.

“Why do you ask?” I said quietly, trying to start off a ripple of mumbles throughout the bar. It seemed to work, and garner Gladio’s attention once more. 

“Figured we could both use an evening off from thinking too much,” he reasoned. 

“You’re not wrong,” I said, giving him a smile. “Sure. But we have to go somewhere that isn’t here. I already spend too much time here.”

“I’m sure there are other places for us to go. Who knows? Maybe it’ll do us some good.”

“Maybe. Probably not, but you never know,” I said, giving him a smile as I walked off towards another customer with an empty glass. 

As promised, Gladio walked me home from work without incident. We made plans to meet up the following day at around eight, which would give him enough time to check in with the hunters to see if they’d found anything after he’d slept for a good twelve hours. 

He left me alone after I was safely in my apartment, saying that he could take care of himself if anything happened. He was different to Ignis in a lot of ways, and I worried about his well being a lot less. I’d always insist that Ignis stayed on the couch after he walked me home from work. He’d always said that he’d be fine to take the five minute walk back to where he was staying, but I think he could tell how worried I was about him. 

I wasn’t sure why I worried. He was perfectly capable. Perhaps more so than Gladio. He just wasn’t nearly as strong. 

I wasn’t sure if I was excited about going out with Gladio.

It had been a long time since I’d gone out anywhere because I usually spent my evenings off from work laid out in front of the TV, only half paying attention to what it was that was playing. I never went out because I never felt like it. 

It was as I sat on the couch, dressed up in the same dress I’d worn all those years ago for the date I went on with him, make up done, and hair smoothed out that I started to feel worried about it. 

I knew that it wasn’t exactly a safe thing to be doing. Wandering around Lestallum in the middle of the night with a drunk Gladio didn’t seem like the wisest of ideas. But at the same time, I’d been holed up in my apartment for so long with the idea of keeping safe that I felt like I’d lost a little part of myself. I’d stopped living in order to keep myself safe and alive. 

It was a little bit ironic, now that I thought about it.

Just as those thoughts were swirling around my head, there was a knock at the door. Gladio had arrived, just on time as I expected. 

Unsurprisingly, as I opened the door, I noticed that he’d hardly made an effort. He was still wearing his Crownsguard attire that I’d hardly ever seen him out of. It was hardly appropriate for a night out, but I wasn’t going to complain. Besides, it was just a night of drinks and talking. I’d probably been the one to overdress for the occasion. 

“You look nice,” he said as he saw me appear through the crack in the door. “Though you should probably invest in some new clothes. You wore that all those years ago, didn’t you?”

“It’s a nice dress, and it still fits. I don’t see the problem,” I pouted as I collected my bag, scooping my keys up as I walked out of the front door. “I take it you know where we’re going?” I half asked as I finished locking the door. I turned to him, smiling slightly and he nodded. 

“Yeah, there’s a bar not too far from here,” he informed me as he began to walk off. “I invited Ignis along, but it seems he’s still a little busy.”

“You think he’s got a girlfriend?” I asked. 

“Iggy? Nah. He’s got too many commitments at the minute, I think. I get the feeling if he was planning on dating someone, he’d want way more time than he actually has.”

“Hm, I guess you’re right,” I sighed. “Though, probably for the best, right? Relationships are a pain.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Gladio said, mimicking my sigh. “We should talk about anything else today. I’m just trying to stop thinking about her for an evening. I’ll be back to the torture tomorrow.”

Gladio hadn’t ever really confided in me before when it came to Amarantha. I knew that he was doing his best to find just the slightest trace of her, but it all seemed to be for nothing. I knew that he loved her deeply, and perhaps still did. I knew that he felt guilty, and I knew that he was doing his best to avoid the grief that would burden him if he stopped to think for too long.

I suppose after knowing someone for so long, they don’t really have to tell you what it is they’re thinking. It just becomes easier to read their faces to see what it is that they’re trying to hide. 

“Well, I’m not sure I have a lot to talk about,” I told him honestly. “Hope you’re good with coming up with the conversation starters for tonight.”

“I’m pretty sure I have an app for something like that,” he pondered. I snickered at him slightly and fell into step alongside him. 

We found ourselves tucked together on a table at a bar that I’d never been to before. It was actually kind of a perfect place to just relax and talk and drink. There wasn’t any music, the only sound around us just the hum of conversation from the other customers. 

Gladio sat across from me, squinting at his phone with one hand, and a beer clutched in the other. 

“What were you super into when you were a kid?” he suddenly asked me, completely out of the blue. I frowned towards him, and in response, he showed me his phone screen which seemed to have a random question generator glowing at me. 

“Oh. Uh, I don’t know. I played the piano, I guess. That was pretty fun?” I half asked. 

“Why did you stop?” he asked, leaning over to listen to me. 

“Well, my parents paid for my lessons and we didn’t really get on that much, so they stopped. I never really had the money to start them again,” I explained, trying to wave off any conversation that could have started about my family. 

“Maybe that’d be something to keep you busy. Buy a keyboard or something,” he suggested as he looked back at his phone. 

“That’s… actually not a terrible idea. I mean, aside from trying to find a keyboard for a reasonable price, it’s not a terrible idea.” 

“I’ll let you know if I come across anything,” he smiled. I reached over and plucked the phone from his hands, and he looked at me in annoyance for a moment. 

“What did you want to be when you were younger?” I read off the phone before handing it back to him. His annoyed look melted away into one that understood what I was doing. 

“That’s kind of a difficult question,” he sighed. “I mean, I never really had that much of a choice. I was always supposed to become the King’s Shield. Y’know, that’s what this tattoo is about,” he told me as his fingers tapped his shoulder that was inked with feathers. 

“What is it then? Like a family crest or something?”

“Hm, not quite. It’s meant for the men in my family. We get it when we become ‘one of the shield,’” he said, making air quotations and rolling his eyes at the last words. 

“Huh, that’s actually kinda cool,” I said, tilting my head to the side. “I mean, I guess if you hated the idea of becoming the King’s Shield or whatever, then maybe it’s not that cool. I don’t know.”

“Y’know. I actually did hate the idea of it at one point. I was probably just being a shitty teenager,” he chuckled.

“As all teenagers are,” I pointed out, to which he nodded.

“I thought that Noct was the most spoilt kid in the world. I hated him. And I mean, I _hated_ him,” he explained. “As it turns out, he was kind of a brat, but his heart was in the right place. It wasn’t so bad, really. There are worse jobs to have.”

I nodded, smiling at him slightly. 

“Didn’t realise you were so soft,” I teased him. “But it was a nice story at least.”

He raised an eyebrow at me, and looked as if he was going to say something before he shook his head, thinking better of it. He peered back down at his phone again, then looked up to me.

“So. Are there any foods you refuse to eat?”

I was kind of surprised by how much of a good evening it was. It was nice to just hang out with someone without feeling worried. It helped that we’d had a few drinks; Gladio a lot more than me. He was laughing like he always used to at the dumb questions that the app had generated for us. It was nice to see him look carefree for a while. 

I could tell that he was drunk, and probably didn’t need anymore drinks, but he’d practically bought everything that night without asking for a single gil. 

After I’d answered the question of how I thought the world would change if superheroes and supervillains actually existed, I picked up my bag and stood up.

“Going somewhere?” he asked. 

“To get more drinks. I already know what you want. I serve you enough at work,” I giggled. It was then that the drinks took full effect on me, and it felt as if the alcohol was wrapping its fingers around my brain. “I just had a thought.” 

He tilted his head slightly while he raised an eyebrow.

“Can you imagine if our date had gone this well all those years ago?” I said. It was more of a hypothetical question than anything else. Just a thought that crossed my mind. “Things might have been way different.”

“Unlikely, but thanks for the confidence boost, I think.”

The bar was crowded, and understaffed. I could tell that much just by looking at the two people behind the bar, scrambling to try and serve the near thirty people that were crowded around them. I knew I’d be waiting a while, and I was kicking myself for not going sooner.

Minutes ticked by uneventfully. I did manage to get a place against the bar, leaning my weight against it which I was incredibly grateful for as the amount of alcohol in my system was just enough to make me sway ever so slightly from side to side. 

It was then that I felt an arm wrap around my waist. I jumped at the sudden feeling, turning to look at who it was that was touching me. It was a face I didn’t know, and he was a lot closer to me than I was comfortable with. His eyes looked as if they were two different sizes, and I was positive it was because he could barely see straight from how much he’d drank. 

“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to edge away, but I was somewhat trapped between him, the bar, and the other people around me. 

“I’m just looking for a good time,” he slurred, barely understandable. “Think you could help me out?”

“No, thanks,” I said, wanting to push him away, but also at the same time, not wanting to touch him. 

“C’mon, I promise it’ll be fun,” he said, trying to entice me, but all it did was make me more uncomfortable. It was weird how in Insomnia, I would have taken him up on his offer pretty quickly. I guess time can really change a person. 

It was then that I heard a throat clear behind him, and suddenly he was being dragged backwards by the scruff of his shirt. His arm wasn’t around my waist anymore, and I felt incredibly relieved. Gladio was somehow managing to sandwich himself between me and the innocent customer next to me who was now being jostled to one side. 

“Sorry, she’s spoken for,” Gladio said, his voice unamused, and giving off this authority that I hadn’t heard in a long, long while. He wrapped his arm around my waist as the stranger had, like he was showing him how possessive he was. 

The drunk man looked up at Gladio, his throat bobbing as he swallowed his nerves. He paused for a moment before he nodded, and scampered off. 

Once he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief. 

“Thanks for helping me out,” I said, giving him a smile. He still hadn’t moved his arm from around me. Instead, I could have sworn he was pulling me just a little bit closer. 

“You know, that’s the first thing you said to me in the bar in Insomnia too,” he said, looking me dead in the eyes. My attention was now firmly fixed on Gladio, and my place in the line didn’t really matter all that much to me at that moment. He was suddenly acting more strange than he had in months.

I soon figured out why as I noticed that his face was getting closer, and closer, and closer. He was going to kiss me.

I managed to come to my senses, at least somewhat, without a moment to spare as I placed my hands on his shoulders and gently, but firmly pushed him back. 

He stopped, and began to back away, a look of disappointment on his face. For some reason, it made me feel angry. He’d barely gotten back to standing up straight before out of nowhere, a fist flew at him and hit him square in the jaw. 

I was quickly released from Gladio’s grip as he clenched his jaw, nostrils flaring, he turned to look at the source of the punch. I turned a little slower than him to see a familiar figure shaking off his fist as if he’d done more damage to his own hand than he had Gladio’s jaw. 

I stopped dead as I saw him there, and Gladio’s angry voice was the only thing that seemed to confirm that this wasn’t some kind of hallucination. 

“Prompto?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments on the last chapter. I'm just getting around to replying to them, but in general, I am sorry for your suffering. Though in a way, it's kind of nice to see that so many people give a damn, haha. I HOPE TO EASE YOUR PAIN IN THE FUTURE.


	35. Chapter 35

“Prompto?” Gladio asked, his voice showing his disbelief, but still sounding angry from the sudden punch to his jaw. 

It was him. It was Prompto. Suddenly, Prompto was in front of me, looking not that different from the last time I’d seen him. His hair was perhaps a little shorter, his eyes maybe looked a little more tired than before. But it was undoubtedly Prompto. 

He was still shaking his hand as if he was injured slightly, but he did manage to look between me and Gladio, a look of hurt on his face. He didn’t say anything, he just pursed his lips into a thin line, like he was trying to hide what emotions he could. 

When Gladio suddenly raised his fist towards Prompto, I shoved myself off of the bar to put myself in between them. I was well aware, even in my intoxicated state, that Gladio could easily have beaten seven different shades of shit out of Prompto without thinking too much about it. 

People were already silent around us, looking at what was happening. I think at that moment, I was more concerned with not causing more of a scene. 

“No,” I said firmly, glaring at Gladio. 

With a huff, he dropped his fist and tucked his hand into his pocket. I looked at him before turning to Prompto who looked equally as angry as Gladio now that the pain had seemingly worn off. 

So I did the only thing I could think to do. I grabbed a handful of Gladio’s shirt, and reached out to grab onto Prompto’s collar so that I could haul them both outside before there anything else happened.

Once we were into the fresh air of Lestallum, I released the two of them so that I could dig through my bag in search of a squashed packet of cigarettes and a lighter. I found the nearest wall, and I sat myself down on it, crossing my legs as I lit a cigarette and began to inhale the smoke.

“If you want to fight it out, go ahead. Just know I think you are both complete idiots right now,” I told them, making sure that my tone was as uncaring as possible. 

Neither of them moved, they just looked at me awkwardly, putting their hands in their pockets and finding a new interest in their boots. I was seething as I looked at them, wishing there was a way to somehow just let the anger inside of me evaporate. But just looking at the pair of them pissed me off. 

Once I was halfway through my cigarette, and neither of them had said a word, I hopped off of the wall and began to walk away in the direction of my apartment. 

“Where are you going?” Gladio finally asked as he caught me by the arm. I snatched my arm away from him almost as quickly as he’d touched me, taking a few steps back from him. 

“I’m going home,” I told him angrily. But once I’d said that, I couldn’t stop myself from just venting my frustrations on the pair of them. “You, Gladio. You do not get to try and use me to get rid of your grief. You especially do not get to use me to try and find a way to get over my best friend. My best friend who you were ready to marry, I might add.”

Gladio had a moment of clarity where he looked completely ashamed of himself.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, kicking at the ground underneath him. “I just, y’know. Kinda felt happy for the first time in a long time.”

“So did I, but I’m not enough of an idiot to think that any part of what just happened was a good idea.”

He nodded, telling me that he’d at least heard me. Then, I turned to look at Prompto, eyes blazing with complete and utter fury.

“And you. You do not get to leave me, not talk to me for months and then show up and act like you give a damn about me. I’m not your concern anymore.”

My words were biting, and he recoiled as I spoke to him. He still hadn’t said a single word since I’d seen him. He still looked as if he was refusing to say anything. He didn’t look at me as I spoke, he just nodded. 

More than anything, I was frustrated that I still felt something for him. For just a moment when I first saw him, I thought that my heart was about ready to burst from how happy I was to see him. 

It took everything I had in me, but I turned on my heel, and began walking away from them again. 

“You can’t go on your own,” Gladio shouted out after me as if he was completely exasperated. He was right. He was one hundred and ten percent correct. I stopped in my tracks as I sighed, taking in another breath of smoke. 

“I’ll take her home,” Prompto finally said, his voice not much more than a mumble. 

“You don’t trust me?” Gladio asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. 

“Honestly, no.”

“Fine,” Gladio said, turning around and walking towards the apartment that he’d once shared with Amarantha. I figured he’d be okay, and that we’d talk about what had happened at some point after the awkwardness has worn off. 

Despite how angry I was at him, I understood how he felt. It had been a great evening, and it had been enough to let me forget how terrible everything had been. 

That left just me and Prompto. He still couldn’t look at me, and he didn’t look as if he wanted to move. So without a word, I began to walk away. Sure enough, I could hear his footsteps behind me as he followed. 

The walk didn’t take that long, and for the majority of the walk, neither of us said anything. That was until I started to see The Surgate’s Beanmine in my sight, which was just down the street from my apartment. It still seemed as if it was brimming with people. That was the magic of the weekend, I thought. 

“I think I get it now,” Prompto finally said in his tiny voice. I just gave him a look of curiosity, not wanting to say anything. His eyes flickered up to me for a second before his gaze found the ground again. “The jealousy thing.”

“Oh,” I responded. “Right.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “It’s not my place to get involved.”

“You’re right. It’s not. Especially when you told me you broke up with me because you wanted me to find someone else,” I said, wondering if it was reasonable for me to stop off and order food rather than waiting a couple of minutes to make a couple of slices of toast. I was doing my best to think of anything aside from the confusion that I felt.

“I mean, that’s not exactly what I said,” he retorted, a little louder this time. “I just said you deserved better, and a night with Gladio is not better.”

“It’s not like I’m swimming in options here,” I tried to joke, but it came out as strained as I tried to stifle a yawn. He gave a small laugh, though there wasn’t much indication behind it that he found my words funny. “I wasn’t going to do anything anyway. Amarantha would be super mad at me if anything had happened.”

He made a sound of agreement, but he didn’t say anything. Perhaps he didn’t want to tell me how hopeless it all really was. 

“What about you? Any new girlfriend I should know about?”

I don’t know why I asked, because I knew I didn’t really want to hear the answer.

“Huh?” He was looking at me with confusion at my asking the question. “No. Of course not.”

“You make it sound so obvious,” I said, trying to sound like I was uninterested. There was definitely a tone of relief in my voice. 

“It  _ should  _ be obvious,” he told me as we finally reached my front door. “I told you I was going to come back and fight for you.”

I took in a breath to steady myself as we came to a stop. I took in the last dregs of my cigarette and flicked the end away into the street. 

“I didn’t think you were telling the truth,” I said as I began to dig through my bag for my keys. It was only then that I noticed he was still clutching onto his hand, like it was still hurting him. I hated the thought of anything hurting him, even if it was by his own doing. “Come on,” I sighed. “I think I have a bag of frozen peas that you can put on that.

I unlocked the door, and gestured for him to go inside. Slowly, he stepped inside, looking almost nervous at the surroundings. It was still the same apartment that was littered with evidence that he’d been important to me at one point. He still was, really. I couldn’t fool myself when it came to how much I still cared for him. 

He slowly looked around, seeing the games console by the TV, the chocobo plush that now sat on the bookshelf, the dreamcatcher that hung above my bed, the necklace that lay on top of my dresser. All of them were these small little traces that he’d left behind. He seemed more at ease when he saw them. I wondered if it was because he felt relieved that I hadn't erased him from my life. 

After I’d closed the door I went straight to the kitchen and dove into my freezer to make some kind of ice pack for his hand. Luckily, I did have a packet of frozen peas that I wrapped in a tea towel before I walked back into the room, where Prompto had perched himself on the edge of the bed. 

He was still looking around the room, almost like he was looking for something in particular. 

“Take your glove off,” I instructed him. He hesitated for a moment before he began to fiddle with his hand, pulling off the offending article to reveal these horrific looking holes in his skin that were bleeding slightly. I frowned. “What is Gladio’s face made out of?” I joked.

“It felt like iron,” he said, wincing slightly. “I hurt myself when I was on a hunt earlier.”

I looked a little closer at it, and I knew it needed to be cleaned out as soon as possible as it was oozing just slightly, and there wasn’t a lot a packet of frozen peas could do for him. 

I sighed, wandering to the bathroom to find something that may have been of help to me. I had a roll of bandages and some alcohol wipes, and I wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to use. He’d never managed to get himself hurt while he was in Lestallum before.

When I emerged from the bathroom, wipes in one hand and a coil of bandages in the other, his face paled. 

“It’s fine,” he insisted, trying to hide his injured hand away from me. 

“Prompto,” I said in a warning tone. “I’m cleaning it out if it’s the last thing I do.”

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye before sighing and nodding. Ever so carefully, I took his hand in my own, and tugged him into the bathroom. As gently as I could, I put his hand into the sink and began to turn the tap on, letting the cold water run over his knuckles. 

His grip on my fingers tightened a little as he winced. My heart fluttered slightly at the pressure, and I couldn’t help but curse at myself internally for such a thing happening at such a stupid time. I was just cleaning his hand, and then he could leave. 

He made whimpers of discomfort as I cleaned the skin on the back of his hand, making sure that I’d wiped away as much of the dirt as I could, cleaning it to the best of my ability. I finished up by messily wrapping the bandage around his hand, which made it impossible for him to fit his glove over the top.

Once it was done, he held it up to his face as if he was inspecting it before he giggled slightly.

“Thank you,” he said, smiling at me. 

“Is there anything else I can do?” I asked, pouting a little at my shoddy job. 

“No, no. This is more than enough,” he told me.

For about ten seconds, we stood awkwardly in the bathroom, looking at each other. Neither of us knew what to say, and I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to leave. 

Maybe I could have blamed it on the amount of alcohol that was still swimming around my system. That was if I needed to blame it on anything. I just couldn’t help it because he was suddenly in front of me, and it was leaving me feeling very, very confused.

I took a step towards him, lifting myself up on my tiptoes slightly and pressed my lips against his. He didn’t really react. He didn’t move, nor did he kiss me back. Maybe I’d misunderstood, I thought. So I pulled back, not exactly sure what I could do to make the situation better. 

I looked up at him, and he didn’t seem like he was completely there. He seemed confused as his fingers came up to touch his lip, almost as if he was in disbelief. A few seconds passed before he looked at me, his eyes locking with mine. Then we were just staring at each other, like we were trying to read each other's minds. 

It seemed like eventually we’d reached the same conclusion. He moved towards me at the same time I moved towards him. One of his hands came to grab at my hip, the other one caressing the side of my face. It felt like he’d been starving for months as his lips came crashing down onto mine with a force I hadn’t felt since he’d first returned from Altissia. 

It was enough to knock me backwards into the wall. He broke away for a second to look at me and see that I was alright. I gave him a small nod before I wound my fingers through his blonde hair to pull him back down to me. Once his lips were on mine against, I couldn’t hold back a small moan, which was a mixture of both pleasure and happiness.

Without breaking the kiss, both of his hands ran down towards the back of my thighs. Without much effort, he managed to lift me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist. He really did seem just a little bit stronger than he was before. Before I had the chance to notice, he was slowly walking us out of the bathroom and towards the bed, all the while, one of his hands was working the zip at the back of my dress. 

He only broke away from me to catch his breath, and even then he was still placing these open mouthed kisses on my neck that slowly moved to my collarbones as he began to move my dress down. 

Part of me was kicking myself for being so weak when it came to Prompto, but the other, much larger part of me didn’t care. Especially at that moment when his lips were trailing down over the new patches of bare skin that were being revealed as he tugged my dress further and further down. 

Once the dress was completely off and cast to the side, his kisses stopped just at the waistband of my underwear. He looked up at me, almost like he was searching for some kind of doubt that was on my face. 

He bit his lip as he moved back up towards my face, placing both of his hands on either side of my head as he hovered over me. His eyes were still searching for something. 

“Do you want to carry on?” he asked me, sounding nervous. I tilted my head to the side, wondering why he was asking. He seemed to know I was curious without me ever voicing it. “Because, y’know. The last time we were gonna do this I upset you.”

I reached out one of my hands to caress the side of his face, and it was only then that I noticed how much I was shaking. 

“I mean, it was more me that made me so upset,” I told him, trying to forget the memory. I knew that ultimately, it was my insecurities that broke up apart. I didn’t think they were entirely unwarranted, but that wasn’t something I wanted to think about at that particular moment. “I want you, Prompto,” I told him, my voice whining just slightly. 

That seemed to be all the encouragement he needed. He lifted himself up again to shrug out of his jacket and lift his shirt over his head before he captured my lips in another kiss, this one filled with much more hunger than the last. It was like those words had stopped him from holding back. 

I could feel his body pressing into mine. I loved the feeling of him being so close. I loved the way that his mouth was pressing against my own, the way that his tongue was so desperate to gain some kind of entry. 

It was an odd feeling, but I felt elated because I knew that above anything else in that moment, he wanted  _ me _ . 

That idea drove me completely crazy. 

Somehow, I managed to channel all the strength I had in me to flip him over so that I was straddling him, our lips now parted as we both gasped for air. I reached down to begin fumbling with his belt buckle eagerly. I fumbled a lot, and it still didn’t seem to want to move.

He smirked just slightly as his hands trailed down, attempting to help me with this impossible-to-undo contraption that I couldn’t quite work out. Finally, when it fell open, I grinned, as if it was all my own doing. He giggled slightly as I all too enthusiastically began to tug down his jeans that were patterned with leopard print. 

As soon as they were on the floor, and I was back on his lap, he quickly sat up to hold me as close as he could, kissing whatever skin he could find. I was clinging to him desperately as he nibbled my collarbone again, trying to suppress whatever moans were bubbling up from my throat. 

Without even noticing, he’d unclasped my bra and cast it aside, dipping his head down further to catch one of my nipples in his mouth. That was when the breathy sighs and groans of pleasure began to fall out of my mouth, which just seemed to encourage him that much more. 

It was then that he pushed me away slightly so that his fingers could brush against my hips and slowly pull my underwear down. It wasn’t exactly graceful, but once they were finally off of me, I was quickly tugging off his boxers. 

It was only when we were completely naked in front of each other that things seem to slow down just a little. I was taking in every part of him that I’d missed, down to the ever fading stretch marks on his stomach. He was looking at me as if he felt the same, and my heart seemed to flutter nervously.

His eyes raked over me slowly before they locked with my own. He was giving me the same look he always used to. His eyes were full of adoration, and love. I somehow felt that that look was reserved for me. He wrapped one of his hands around my hip to pull me forward so that he could litter whatever skin he could find with these soft, gentle kisses. 

I was pulled back onto his lap as my lips found his own. As I brought my hands up to either side of his face, I was trying to pour every ounce of care that I could muster into the long and firm kiss we were sharing. 

I only broke the kiss to maneuver slightly so that I could take his hardened member in my hand, causing him to gasp ever so slightly. I loved that sound more than anything else in the world. I positioned myself over the top of him before I started lowering myself down onto him. 

I couldn’t help but wince just slightly as I adjusted to the sudden length inside me. He must have noticed, because within seconds, he was caressing the side of my face, looking at me with concern. He was silently asking if I was okay. 

I nodded slightly before I started moving again. I’d forgotten in the past year since we’d last been together how perfect he felt, and how he’d just manage to rub up against that particular spot that make my body shake in pleasure. It was almost like we fit each other perfectly. 

Honestly, the whole experience didn’t last all that long, like it was impossible for either of us to hold off our pent up desires and frustrations. None of it was helped by his groans in my ear as his fingers dug into my hips. He was entirely setting the pace with his own hands, and it seemed that he was just longing to find some kind of release. 

My own release seemed to come out of nowhere, and I couldn’t help but cry out at the feeling as he stilled me after I came slamming down on him one last time. 

I could barely move as I came down from my high, and I didn’t even realise that slowly, he was turning me around so that he could lay me down on the mattress, bringing up one of the quilts to drape around me. 

I let out a long breath as I looked at him. It was when I saw him reaching for the pile of clothes on the floor that I caught his wrist with all the strength I had left in my body. He turned to look at me, and I could tell that he was completely spent. 

“Where are you going?” I asked, my voice small and scared.

“I, uh, thought you’d want me to leave?” he half asked, and I shook my head in response. 

“Will you stay with me?” I asked, and his shoulders sank as if the weight of his worries had been lifted off of his shoulders. He smiled slightly, shuffling backwards to lay down next to me. 

“If that’s what you want, of course I’ll stay,” he smiled. I moved the blanket slightly so that he could move underneath it. I was quick to wrap my arms around his stomach and rest my head on his arm, pulling him as close to me as I could. 

My eyelids were already closing against my will, and trying to fight off my tiredness didn’t seem to work. I was very quickly dozing off, but I just wanted to stay awake for just a little bit longer so that I could take in how good it felt to be with him for as long as I could manage. 

“I love you,” I mumbled without thinking. It was true. Even after all this time apart, Prompto still had my heart, and that was the first time that I didn’t feel so bitter about that fact. I felt his chest jolt a little bit under my head, like he was laughing just slightly. 

“I love you more,” he replied through a yawn. 

Nothing else was said before I fell asleep in his arms. 

I slowly came to consciousness the next day, feeling the most well rested I had in months. I hadn’t had that same vivid dream that I always had. Instead I woke up feeling butterflies in my stomach as Prompto, who was positioned behind me, was nibbling at my neck just slightly, like he always used to. His hand was resting on my sternum, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb. 

Once he saw that I was awake, he pulled back just slightly, smirking at me.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said before he resumed pressing kisses into my skin. It was strange how normal this all felt, even after so long. 

“Morning, handsome,” I replied through my raspy morning voice. He snickered at me slightly, as he always used to. He used to think it was ridiculous that I thought he was handsome, I remembered. 

Slowly I turned around towards him. Although the kisses he was leaving across my skin felt what I could only describe as magical, I wanted nothing more than to nuzzle into his embrace. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close to his still completely bare body. 

“A bit sore, and my head kinda hurts,” I responded. My head was actually hurting an awful lot when I actually thought about it. “But I’m happy.”

“You want some painkillers?”

I just moved my head in a circle, not quite nodding, not quite shaking my head. I wanted painkillers an awful lot, hoping that I could take them before the real hangover kicked in. But I didn’t want Prompto to move because I was so comfortable. 

He chuckled at me slightly, bringing one of his hands up to grasp the back of my head. He tilted my head up so that I was sleepily looking at his face. That perfect face that was so cute it made me want to cry. 

“I promise I’ll be quick,” he told me, giving me a brief, chaste kiss on my lips before he started to untangle his arms from my own. 

I was still slipping in and out of sleep while he took a lot longer than it should have just to get painkillers and a glass of water. But he did come back eventually, sitting himself on the edge of the bed, by this time at least partially dressed. 

He sat me up, taking my hand and dropping two tablets into my palm. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I threw them back into my mouth. He could have easily just fed me poison and I would have been none the wiser. He quickly handed me a glass of cold water to wash them down with, and I was more than eager to chug down as much of it as I could. 

He was quick to take the empty glass off of me once I was done, and make his way back into the kitchen. I shuffled slightly so that I was propped up comfortably against the pile of pillows behind me, using the soft duvet to cover myself up. 

When Prompto reappeared from the kitchen, he was balancing a mug in one hand and a plate in the other. I tilted my head as I saw him, curious about what he was doing. Once he was a little bit closer towards me, he outstretched his arms, offering me a cup of tea, and two slices of slightly charred toast. 

“You made me breakfast?” I asked, taking the things out of his hands. 

“Yeah. Well. I tried to. I don’t know how good it is. I just thought you should eat something,” he tried to explain, mumbling as if he was slightly embarrassed by his attempt at toast. 

“Thank you,” I smiled, quickly tucking into the food as I placed the mug on the bedside table. I’d kind of forgotten how kind he could be. It wasn’t really in the large, grand gestures he made, but the small ways that he showed that he cared. “You should get something too.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. I mean, I don’t have a lot right now, but there should be some cereal if that’s what you want, or you could make toast again.”

He snickered slightly, covering his mouth with his hand as he laughed. 

“I think the cereal might be the safer bet.”

We ate our breakfasts quietly, but happily. Despite it’s charred exterior, the toast wasn’t nearly as bad as I was anticipating. The tea was just as sweet as I’d imagined, if not a little bit too strong for me, but I appreciated and enjoyed it all the same.

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Prompto said once we finished our food, and I couldn’t help but respond with a sigh. “What’s the sigh for?”

“The last time you said you wanted to talk to me I had a pretty terrible day,” I pointed out. “But it’s not like you can break up with me again, I guess.”

He let out a small laugh, but this one was more awkward, like he wasn’t sure what else to say. 

“I promise you it’s nothing bad,” he reassured me, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close to him again. “I just wanted to understand something you said yesterday.”

“Okay,” I said cautiously, wondering if I’d said something stupid while under the influence.

“You said that you didn’t believe what I said when we broke up. You didn’t believe me when I said I’d come back, and I want to know why.”

His words were serious, but his eyes were still looking at me with this kindness that I wasn’t sure I deserved. 

I pursed my lips, trying to think. I realised there was little point in hiding anything from him because really, I had nothing to lose. Just because we’d spent a night together didn’t mean that we were a couple again. He wasn’t my boyfriend, and I’d lost that because I couldn’t talk to him. 

“You know I’m not going to be upset with you,” he said, gripping onto me just a little bit tighter. “I just want to understand you more than I did before.”

“You’re probably going to think it’s really stupid,” I warned him as I burrowed my face into his arm. “I thought that you wanted to be with Cidney more than you wanted to be with me. I mean, she’s so much more than I am. And y’know, she seems to be a hell of a lot more useful than I am.”

He tilted my head up again, his thumb stroking my cheek slightly. He pressed a firm kiss against my lips before coming to rest his forehead on my own. 

“You know, even after all this time, I still love you. There isn’t  _ anyone _ in this world that I think is more than you in anyway. Not Cidney. Not Iris, or Aranea. No one,” he told me sternly. He was looking at me with such an intensity that it almost made my heart stop. 

I felt like I wanted to cry, and for the first time in nearly a year, they would be tears of complete and utter relief. I couldn’t stop a few tears that were building at the corner of my eyes. Once he saw me, his face fell just a little bit.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, backing away slightly, worry evident on his face. I could only sniff, and shake my head. 

“No, not at all,” I managed to breathe. 

He smiled slightly. 

“That makes a change, huh?” he joked, and I couldn’t help but let out a giggle as I sniffed again. “I still don’t know if I’ve figured things out properly,” he continued. “I still want to get stronger because I have a duty that I need to see through.”

“I know,” I said, wiping at my eyes. “Honestly, I get it. I do. It’s just always been difficult to remember that you aren’t going to be gone forever. I think that’s what I struggled with.”

“I get that,” he chuckled. “It feels like I’m always going to be sleeping on that uncomfortable bed.”

I giggled at him slightly, somehow feeling that talking to him had been enough to lift my spirits just so that I could figure out a lot of things once he left. I wouldn’t have to question myself on quiet nights as I laid in bed, wondering if there was anyway that I could be enough.

“Maybe we should work on being friends for now,” he suggested. Honestly his idea made a lot of sense to me. We couldn’t be together at that point, but him not being in my life at all was one of the worst things I’d experienced. 

“Friends who are maybe a little bit in love with each other?” I said, laughing slightly. 

“It’ll be nostalgic, right?” he snickered, planting a small kiss on my cheek.

“Yeah, it’s just you’ll know about it this time,” I said as I settled into his arms. “I have a question for you.” He tilted his head, and raised his eyebrow. “Honestly, did you mean it when you told me you wanted me to find someone else? Who gave me what I deserved, or whatever it was you said?”

He smiled slightly, brushing my hair out of my face. 

“I did mean it because I want you to be happy. But let’s face it, I don’t think there’s anyone who’s good enough for you,” he said, giving me that huge grin that I’d undoubtedly missed. 

 

We had the chance to spend a few hours together before he had to leave, telling me that he needed to head back to Hammerhead to get ready for a hunt that he was going on in the next couple of days. We just spent the time talking, and even playing the games console that had been unused for months. It felt kind of nostalgic. 

We parted once again on good terms. He promised me that he’d do more to stay in touch with me, saying that he’d text me when he had the time, and call me if he could on the weekends. Before he’d left, he gave me a long, lingering kiss, and it felt much nicer than the last kiss he’d given me in Hammerhead. 

Once he was gone, I let out a long sigh, and went to pick my phone up from the bedside table. I flopped back onto the bed and began flicking through the menus before landing on Gladio’s name. 

I quickly clicked on it, and brought the phone to my ear. It rang a few times, before I heard a very worn out voice on the other end. 

“Please don’t say you’re calling to sober shame me,” he groaned. He sounded like he was suffering a lot more than I was. 

“No, I’m not. I don’t know why I’m calling, really. I guess I just want to get the awkwardness out of the way as quickly as possible and check that you’re okay,” I mumbled. 

“I’m living in regret, and I have a headache, so there’s that, I suppose,” he sighed, letting out a loud breath as if he was falling down onto his bed or couch. “Thanks for the call, I guess.”

“I just wanted to say that I kind of understand what happened yesterday. I mean, I probably instigated the whole thing by mentioning that date we went on,” I said, trying to reassure him. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” he told me. “But thanks. For stopping me, I mean. I can imagine both of us would be feeling a lot more regret this morning if anything had happened.”

“For sure,” I said, chortling slightly. “Let’s not tell Amarantha about last night when she comes back.”

He chuckled slightly, and I got the impression he was nodding.

“Yeah. _When_ she comes back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felt like I just had to give people a little bit of happiness and not mess around for four hundred more chapters of angst and doubt.


	36. Chapter 36

It was a handful of months later, and I’d gone past my 26th birthday. It had been over a year since Amarantha had gone missing, and I found myself sat on the bench that overlooked the Cauthess Disc, Ignis sat next to me. The walls around that area had been decorated with photographs of people who had gone missing. 

I was searching what I could see of the wall, trying to find a photo of Amarantha that Gladio had posted up there, but it seemed that it had somehow been buried. With the amount of people going missing, it was a surprise that there was anyone left. 

There was a constant though; when people went missing, they didn’t come back. 

By this point, I’d all but given up hope of seeing my best friend again. I wanted nothing more than her safety, but at the same time, I felt like I desperately ached for some kind of closure. 

I let out a long sigh as I gave up looking for her photograph, looking instead out over the disc that wasn’t all that visible. I was content enough just to be outside though.

“You’re sighing again,” Ignis pointed out. 

“I sigh all the time,” I retorted as I stretched out my back. 

“Everything alright?” he asked, looking towards me with his blind eyes. 

“As alright as they can be, I suppose. Things would be better if we could get the sun back. Though the minute it does come back, I’m totally going to complain about getting sunburnt or something dumb,” I joked. It was enough to bring a chuckle out of Ignis. He usually had a smirk on his face, but very little seemed to make him laugh. 

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what I want to do when this is all over,” he said, leaning back slightly. “It’s like I feel optimistic about the future, for some reason. Quite bizarre, don’t you think?”

“I’m surprised that you’ve had time to think about it between babysitting me and going out on hunts so often. But you have me curious now, so spill it,” I said, giving his arm a firm poke. 

“Hm. I don’t know if I want to give away all of my secrets,” he hummed in consideration. 

“Are you kidding? I feel like I barely know a thing about you, and I’ve known you for what? Six years?”

“I can’t believe it’s been that long already. But I’ll humour you. What do you want to know?” 

“Well I want to know what you’ve got planned for the future,” I said, leaning towards him so that I could study his face. He wasn’t going to get away with telling me anything but the truth. 

“I think I’d like to open my own restaurant,” he said simply, and I moved away from him, noting the slight smile on his face. Although he couldn’t tell, I was grinning at him. 

“That’s awesome! And let’s face it, I don’t know a better cook than you. Just make sure you keep me in mind if you want any experiences servers,” I teased. 

“That can’t be what you want to do with the rest of your life,” he said, tilting his head slightly. “Dream a little.”

“I’ll keep it to dreaming about making it out of this alive so that I can see my friends do awesome things like open restaurants. That’s really enough for me. I’m getting by,” I said, smiling but turning away from him. 

“Whatever happened when Prompto visited really changed your outlook on things,” he stated. He wasn’t prying into why that was -- which I was thankful for -- but simply telling me his observation. 

“Well, we’ve been keeping in touch a little more. We text each other a lot now, anyway. I kinda forgot how much I valued him as a friend before we started dating.”

“Sounds like you’ve got things sorted out somewhat. I’m happy for you both. Prompto seemed about as miserable as you for quite a long time,” he sighed. 

“Now you’re sighing,” I pointed out. “And you probably should have told me that sooner. It might have made me feel better to know that Prompto was probably having about as much fun as me. Not like it really matters anymore.”

“Water under the bridge now?” he asked. I let out a small laugh as I stood up, stretching my muscles. 

“Something like that, I suppose. Anyway, I have to get to work,” I said as I collected my bag. 

“Alright. I suppose I’ll walk you there. I don’t have much else to do right now,” he smirked, standing up and listening carefully for my footsteps.

I was completely wiped out by the time I got home. I’d not felt this tired in a long, long time. After saying my goodbyes to Gladio who had walked me home, I locked the door and flopped down on my bed face first. I couldn’t even move to take my uniform off for a good few minutes, and even then my pyjamas felt like a million miles away. 

Eventually I just peeled away the layers of my clothing and rolled into bed, completely overtaken by the exhaustion I felt. Just one more day of work, and then I’d be free for the weekend, I thought before I was welcomed in by the warm, dark blanket of unconsciousness. 

Since Prompto had visited, I rarely had dreams of the field of blue and yellow flowers. It was like that place was the manifestation of my insecurity. It only ever appeared if I’d had a particularly bad day at work, or if I thought too much about Amarantha. 

I was thankful that I could get a peaceful sleep more often.

Now if only I could figure out what that distant buzzing was. It stopped for just a few moments before it started again, almost sounding as if it was colliding with glass. 

My eyes inched open against my will as I looked around. It was 4am, and my phone was slowly gliding across the bedside table. I glared at the glowing screen as my eyes tried to adjust, and what came into focus was the image of Prompto, petting the chocobo from all those years ago. 

We were friends that texted a lot, but phone calls were a rarity. And somehow that picture sent a twinge of longing through me. 

I groped for it, finally finding it and bringing it to my ear.

“Hello?” 

My voice was raspy and broken, so I quickly cleared it as I waited for a response from the other end. At first, I heard a small sigh.

“Hey,” he said, sounding a little more somber than I expected. “Did I wake you up?”

“A little bit. I mean, it is four in the morning,” I grumbled, forcing myself onto my back so that I could look up at the ceiling that was decorated with the warm, glowing patterns of my fairy lights.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re probably working tomorrow, right? Should I call back some other time?”

“If you’re calling me this early in the morning, I’m sure there’s a reason, so it’s okay,” I said, trying to make my voice sound as gentle as possible. “What’s up, buttercup?”

He let out a small chuckle, almost like he couldn’t work out if he was amused or not.

“You know you don’t have to humour me, right? I’m not your boyfriend anymore,” he reminded me, and immediately I could feel my throat close up. His words weren’t meant to be hurtful, but they stung.

“You are my friend though. And you’ve already woken me up, so you might as well tell me why you called.” I meant it to come out in a joking tone, but it sounded more strained than anything else.

It didn’t feel fair that he still had this effect on me. We never saw each other, and when we spoke, it wasn’t the same as it once was. Yet I still loved him all the same, and my feelings for him hadn’t dissipated over the year that he’d been all but absent. I knew why it was, really. I’d had a lot of time to think about it. It was because he was the only person I’d ever really let into my life, and he’d been the only person to treat me with respect and care. 

To me, there wasn’t anyone who could compare to him, or replace him. He was my light, my sunshine. And that was so valuable during such a dark time.

He let out another long sigh, like he was buying time so that he could try and find the words to explain. 

“I don’t know,” he finally mumbled. “I feel messed up and you always seem to set things straight somehow.”

I shuffled in bed, sitting up as I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes. 

“Well, if you wanted to make me worried, you’ve succeeded,” I told him. “C’mon, you know you can talk to me if you need to, Sunshine.”

It was then that he laughed a little, and I got the feeling he was shaking his head. 

“You’re still calling me that?”

“Duh. It’s a nickname. Yours specifically. But seriously, stop trying to avoid the reason you woke me up. It’s freaking me out. Is everyone okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I saw Gladio a few days ago. I don’t know how he does it, y’know? He still seems really determined to find Amarantha.”

It wasn’t often that anyone ever said her name out loud anymore. She was just referred to as ‘her’ and the sound of her name made me wince just a little bit. 

“Yeah, he is.”

I didn’t know what else to say, so I studied the patterns on the ceiling just a little more. 

“You know, I wish there was more that I could do. I want to find her because I know that it’d make the both of you happy. But I guess I’m not really good for anything, huh?”

“I know the feeling,” I told him. “She’s my best friend, and I’ve been so… helpless. I’m not capable like the hunters are, and I don’t know the land well enough, so I can’t go out and look for her with them. All I do is work at a bar.”

I could feel the tears begin to sting my eyes. I just wanted my best friend back, and there was nothing I could do to make her come back. She was just gone, probably dead, and I had no way of knowing.

“Hey,” he said quietly, his voice sounding as soft as it possibly could. “Don’t.” 

“Is that why you called me?” I asked, sniffing, and wiping the tears away from the corner of my eyes. “Because I’m totally hanging up on you if you don’t tell me why you called.”

That was a lie. His voice was soothing, so I couldn’t have hung up on him, even if I wanted to. 

“I can’t get anything past you, huh?”

“I’m sharp,” I said, trying to joke. 

He sighed again, and I could tell that he was thinking things through as quickly as he could. 

“I got asked on a date,” he finally murmured quietly. He didn’t sound either happy, nor excited. His words just hung in the air as my heart lodged itself in my throat. I stayed silent for a few seconds, trying desperately to think of what to say.

“C-congratulations,” I whispered, that being about all that I could manage. “What’s she like?” 

“She’s a hunter. She stays in Hammerhead so we’ve run into each other a couple of times. I guess she thinks I have my charms, or something,” he muttered.

There was a silence that followed that felt awkward and uncomfortable. Maybe that was why he’d reminded me earlier that he wasn’t my boyfriend, but it was just a few months ago that he’d told me he was ready to fight for me. Maybe things had changed so quickly without me realising it.

But above everything else, I wanted Prompto to stay in my life. I wanted his friendship. Because he was, at one point at least, my best friend. He absolutely had his charms, even if he couldn’t see them. He was sweet, kind, caring. He was strong, and he was brave. 

“Well, if that’s all you called to talk about, I should get back to sleep,” I said, just wanting the silence to end. I didn’t want to make him feel guilty about living his life apart from me. 

“If you tell me not to go, I won’t go.”

His words were stubborn and serious, almost like they were testing me. 

“Prompto…” I whimpered. “That’s unfair.”

“I’m serious. If you tell me you don’t want me to go, then I won’t go.”

I felt strangely conflicted. 

On one hand, I wanted him to be happy, even if that didn’t involve me. I wanted him to smile like he used to when the world hadn’t gone to shit. 

On the other hand, _I_ wanted to be the one that could make him smile like that.

There was no part of me that seriously wanted to deny him of finding happiness in whatever ways he could. However, the thought did make me feel lonely. 

I tried to steady myself, and tried desperately to channel my persona from work. The persona that let me smile even in the face of the worst days imaginable. The persona that let me cheer up the hunters who had lost their friends. The persona that let me smile even when Amarantha was so clearly absent.

“Well,” I started, taking a breath in. “Will she make you happy?”

There was a silence for a few seconds, and it made my heart ache. I thought of all the answers he could give that would break my heart, never once thinking of an answer that would make it soar. Yet Prompto, six years after we’d reunited, still found ways to surprise me.

“Not like you do.”

There was a moment of silence that followed, and I could feel the tears begin to sting my eyes again.

“Then don’t go,” I told him, my voice shaking and uneven.

“Then I’m coming back to Lestallum,” he quickly told me, a sternness in his voice. That was enough to freeze me into place. “I want things to go back to the way they were. I want to stay in your apartment with you, and I want to play terrible video games with you. I want to watch movies with you, and eat hot pot with you.”

“Always with the hot pot,” I sniffled, laughing slightly. 

“I’m serious though. I want to come back. I want to hold you again, and laugh with you, and make sure that you know how much I love you,” he told me, a certain something about his voice telling me that he was crying too, or at least on the way there. “I keep thinking about Gladio and Amarantha, and then I just think I’ve been such a stupid asshole. He’s desperate for one more day with her, and here I am, making excuses.”

He sniffed slightly before letting out a long breath as if he was just trying to get rid of some of the negativity that he’d taken in. 

“When she asked me out earlier, I felt sick. I felt like if I didn’t come back, then maybe you really would find someone better than I am. I mean, if someone asked  _ me  _ out, it wasn’t like it was going to be long before the same happened to you.”

“Then come back,” I whispered, almost like I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to hear it or not. “Stop rambling and just come home.”

“I will. As soon as I can. I promise. And then I’m going to ask you to be my girlfriend again, so you’d better start thinking about if you want me back or not,” he said, sniffing again before managing a chuckle. 

“You don’t even need to give me time to think about it,” I murmured as I tried to convince myself that this wasn’t a dream. “Is there anything else you wanted to get off of your chest while you have me awake?”

“Oh, there’s tonnes of stuff I want to talk to you about.”

“Then talk,” I said, relaxing into the pillows slightly.

“I do want to say that I don’t really regret the choices I’ve made. I’m happy that I’m stronger than I used to be, so when Noct comes back, I can help him,” he said firmly. “I’m not going to be the one that brings back the light, but I can help Noct. And he will.”

“I believe you,” I agreed. 

“But then, I get this time to myself and I think I was such an idiot for so many reasons. Like, why did we break up? Why did I think that was a good idea? I just wanted you to be happy, and I didn’t think that I was making that happen. And then I listen to Gladio talk about Amarantha, and I started to think that maybe I’d taken everything for granted and that my choice was wrong. I was wrong, wasn’t I?”

“Yeah. You were.”

My words were simple, but I could tell he was nodding his head as he always did when he agreed with what was being said.

“I’m coming back to Lestallum. I have a couple of things to take care of here, and then I’m going straight to you, alright? Will you let me stay with you again?”

“You still have the key, don’t you?” I asked.

“I take it with me everywhere I go,” he said confidently.

“You’re such a dork,” I giggled, finally wiping the last of my tears away. 

“You wouldn’t have me any other way though, right?”

“Not for anything,” I smiled.

“Hey, you’re still in bed, right?” he suddenly asked.

“Yeah,” I told him. “Where else would I be at four in the morning?”

“I’m in bed too. I was wondering if I could ask something kinda strange.”

“I’m not sure I like where this is going,” I mumbled cautiously.

“Hm? O-oh. No, no. It’s nothing like that,” he chuckled. “You wanna just stay on the phone with me while we go to sleep?” he asked, suddenly sounding shy. 

“I forgot how cute you are sometimes,” I smiled. “Sounds perfect. Then you can wake me up tomorrow and tell me that this isn’t some kind of dream.”

I could hear him shuffle around slightly, and then my phone vibrated against my ear.

“That was me,” he said. “It’s just a text for you to read tomorrow. Y’know, just in case I have to hang up before you wake up. I’ve got some stuff I need to do tomorrow, and I don’t really want to wake you up twice in one day.”

“Mm,” I hummed. “It’s because you have a little sense left in you.”

“I miss you,” he mumbled, and I could tell he was settling down into his bed as he spoke.

“I miss you more,” I said, burrowing into my covers, but not before putting my phone on loudspeaker and placing the phone next to me in the spot where he used to sleep. 

“I don’t think that’s possible, sweetheart,” he chuckled, but as soon as I’d settled down, I was far too tired to reply. I was quickly drifting off, back into my slumber. I let out a tired moan as I always did when I was just about to fall asleep, and the last thing I heard was a quiet giggle from my phone. 

I woke up the next afternoon with the phone still on my pillow but the call ended. I sighed, reaching for my phone, figuring it must have been some kind of strange lucid dream. But sure enough, as I tapped the screen, my phone was telling me that I had a message from Prompto.

_ It wasn’t a dream. I’ll be back as soon as I can. _

I read the message over and over again as I willed myself out of bed, almost in disbelief. Yet, there was still a smile creeping across my face. After five years of living in Hammerhead, he was coming back to Lestallum, and he was going to stay. I felt like I wanted to pinch myself for daring to dream of something so happy. 

Instead, I clambered out of bed, going about my day as I got ready for work. Every so often, I’d re-read the text he’d sent like I was scared it would disappear, and it would be like it never existed. 

But it was always there, glowing from my phone slightly as I braided my hair and got my make-up on, ready for the last evening of work before my weekend off. In a way, I was looking forward to it so that I could clean out a drawer or two for Prompto’s clothes, and organise the bookshelf so that his things had a place to go. 

It was such a mundane thing to think about, but I was still excited. 

My shift went by rather quickly, but Gladio never showed up. Ignis was off out on a hunt that night, he’d mentioned it to me the day before, so I assumed that Gladio would be there to walk me home, but he wasn’t. 

He must have been on a hunt, or out searching for a trace of the woman he loved. 

I couldn’t wait forever. The bar was closed, and I wasn’t about to wait until morning. One day walking home on my own would have been fine, so that’s what I did. 

I collected my bag from the locker room, gave a wave to my boss, and I walked out of the back door. Funnily enough, I didn’t feel worried. I still felt elated at my text message from Prompto. 

That was probably the biggest mistake I could have made. 

I wasn’t even halfway out of the alleyway behind the bar before I felt a hand wrap around my mouth stifling my surprised screams. I couldn’t see anyone, I could just feel the hands that were holding onto me. Then, something hit me. It felt like lead, just at the back of my head. 

My vision blurred before I was smothered by the darkness that overtook me. 

The darkness around me seemed to be never ending. It felt like it went on for a lifetime, and there wasn’t anything I could do to escape it. Was I dead? Could I even question my state of life if I _was_ dead? 

My head hurt. My head hurt a lot. 

“Rena?”

There was a voice that was gently trying to coax me out of my unconsciousness. It was warm, feminine. Familiar. I could feel my body jostle slightly, like I was moving, but it wasn’t because of the voice that was talking to me in a quiet, desperate whimper.

“Rena, c’mon.”

Slowly, my eyes started to open, searching for anything to focus on in the darkness. Then, I saw her next to me. She was different than before. She was thinner, almost skeletal, her cheeks hollowed, her light brown hair long and messy. 

After all this time, she was still alive.

“Amarantha?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We managed to hit 300 kudos just in time for the real angst to start. Thank you so much for all the kudos and the comments. They make me very, very happy. I should treat you all better instead of attempting this angst thing.


	37. Chapter 37

I remember so clearly the first time I realised that I was in love with her. It was the morning in Old Lestallum, the morning after her nightmare where she’d desperately started clinging to me in her sleep, like she never wanted to let me go. The moment I figured it out, I didn’t feel as uneasy as I usually did. I actually felt content, thinking that I could deal with the consequences of my feelings later. 

Every so often when she slept, she’d let out these adorable soft moans that told me that she was happy, and safe from her dreams. Everything within me wanted to hold her just that little bit closer, but I knew that there was no way that she could have fallen for a loser like me. 

Yet I didn’t feel sad when I realised that I loved her, even though I was sure she couldn’t have felt the same way for me. It was somehow okay. Even if I just had to watch her from afar, and support her when she found someone that she liked, then that would be okay, as long as I was with her. 

I must have been awake for half an hour, just watching her carefully as she mumbled to herself in her sleep, letting out these content noises and it felt like heaven. 

“I love you,” I mumbled quietly, just feeling this overwhelming need to tell her. Even though she couldn’t hear me, it set my heart into a quick pace. It was then, that ever so cautiously, she lifted her head to look at me. I managed an awkward smile to her as she squinted in my direction. “Good morning. I-I didn’t wake you did I?”

When she shook her head, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. She hadn’t heard me. 

A day later, Noct was with me as I tried to pick out a gift for her as she was kind enough to let us all intrude on her to make us dinner. I was practically bouncing down the street as I thought of the night that was ahead, and the delicious hot pot she’d made before. I didn’t know it was possible for anything to taste better than what Ignis made.  

“You’re happy today,” Noct commented, sounding almost bored. “I’m telling you, she likes you.”

“I don’t know what’s got you so convinced about that, man. Besides, it looks like Gladio really has a soft spot for her,” I sighed, trying to push the thought out of my head. When I’d figured it out and realised that I adored her more than anyone else in Eos, I’d been blissful, and completely idiotic. 

I didn’t want to just give up the idea of perhaps being with her one day. It was just an idea, a dream, maybe. But Gladio was a casanova of sorts. He seemed to be able to charm his way into any woman’s heart that he so chose. 

I didn’t even know how to impress her. 

“I don’t think she has a soft spot for him, though,” Noct commented as we walked by a florist. Flowers sure were expensive, I thought. 

“What makes you think that?” I asked as I stopped suddenly, going back a few paces to look at the array of colourful bouquets. Was this something she would have liked? Or were they too girly? Did she like girly? 

I really didn’t know a thing about her. 

“Just a feeling,” Noct responded, yawning slightly as he came to stop at my side. He shoved his hands in his pocket and leant over slightly to eye the flowers himself. “What’s her favourite colour?”

“Blue.”

He let out an annoyed sigh. 

“Blue flowers are easy to come across in Tenebrae, but they aren’t exactly common here,” he said, looking over them again. I couldn’t help but laugh at him. 

“I’m not trying to make a grand gesture,” I said, waving my hands at him slightly. 

“You should get her flowers,” he insisted. “If she likes them, then you’ll know for when you do make a grand gesture. And if she hates them, you can blame it on me.”

He gave me a firm slap on the back, right between my shoulder blades. I know he was trying to reassure me, but it turned out that the ideas he was putting in my head were making me feel so much more nervous than before. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she felt the same way about me, but maybe one day she could. Maybe.

I dug around in my pocket for whatever gil was in there, and it wasn’t all that much. But, with a deep breath, I walked towards the woman tending the store, and held out my pathetic amount of money in her direction. 

“I, uh, don’t know anything about flowers, but if you could make something nice for this much money, I’d appreciate that.”

That night turned out to be kind of a disaster. 

After everyone had left, and she was locked in the bathroom, I was surrounded by the mess we’d made. There were empty glasses everywhere, and random things that we’d used for the dares strewn around the floor. I sighed, trying to think of what I could do to help. I decided rather quickly that she was my priority, and cleaning up was not.

I moved towards the bathroom, and quietly tapped my knuckles on the door.

“Are you okay in there?” I asked, trying not to shout too loudly.

“Is yes a believable answer?” she responded, her voice sounding weak and wobbly. I heard the toilet flush and after a few seconds of silence, she shouted towards me again. “You can go, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said as gently as I could, just trying to reassure her that I was there if she needed me. 

A minute of silence followed before I could have sworn I heard her sniffing, like she was crying. I felt helpless. I just wanted to comfort her, but I had no idea how I was supposed to do that. 

I sat down against the door, trying to think of the right thing to say. 

“You know, Gladio really likes you,” I said, trying to put my own feelings aside, however much it hurt. “He hardly stopped talking about you after Hammerhead.”

And it was true. He didn’t ever pass up an opportunity to talk about her if it came up. In quiet moments in the car, he’d lean forward to ask me questions about her as if I had all of the answers. He was clearly infatuated with her, of all people. I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anyone in my life, but I knew I couldn’t compare to him.

Yet at the same time, just the question of the two of them going out on a date seemed to upset her so much, and I couldn’t work out why.

“He’s not the one you like, though, is he?” I asked. I wanted her to say no. I was wishing that she’d say no. I was thankful that she couldn’t see how nervous I was at what her answer could have been. 

“No,” she whimpered all too quickly. 

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I had a million thoughts in the space of a second about how perhaps Noct was right. Maybe it was me that she liked. I shook the thought off, because at that very moment, it wasn’t important. 

“You gonna come out of there? I can look after you a little better if you do.”

I heard her shuffle around slightly, like she was shakily climbing to her feet.

“Okay,” she replied. 

After a few seconds, the lock on the door clicked, and opened. I only caught a brief glimpse of her face. Her hair was messy, her cheers were stained with tears. I just wanted to protect her with everything I had. So I gathered her up in my arms, gently bringing her close to me. 

I loved her. I wanted to tell her before someone stole her away from me. I was a coward though, so instead, I held her tightly, talking with her about what it was that she wanted to do.

I couldn’t sit still while she was out with Gladio. I found that I was pacing the room, and checking my phone more often than was normal.

“Will you quit it?” Noct suddenly asked, glaring at me from his bed. He looked tired, like he was trying to fit in a nap while we had some down time. 

I sighed, sitting myself down on the edge of my own bed, looking at my phone again. She still hadn’t text me telling me she was having a horrible time. That had to mean she was having a good time, right?

“Just tell her, dude,” he sighed, sounding annoyed. “This is painful to watch.”

“Not right now,” I mumbled. I started typing out a message to her before quickly deleting it, deciding against it. It had been hours and I was slowly losing my mind. 

Just as I was deep in thought, the door flew open, and Gladio was stood in the doorway, looking awkward. He had to know that I liked her, and it must have gone really well, was what I thought. Something had happened, and he was going to have to answer the thousand questions that I had. 

“You wanna do me a favour, Prompto?” he asked, far too quietly. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked at him. “Can you go to her? She’s at The Surgate’s Beanmine.”

“Did it go that badly?” Noct asked, sitting up to get a good look at him. 

“That’s one way to put it. I just told her I’d be right back, but you should go, Prompto.”

I could tell that he felt guilty, and I was desperate to ask what had happened. Had he tried something and she’d gotten upset? Had he been himself and just said something without thinking too much?

“Why me?”

“You’re her best friend, right?”

I stood up and pretty much sprinted out of the door and towards where she was. 

I wasn’t sure that she wanted me around while she was so sick, but I would have felt awful leaving her on her own. At least if I was around, if she needed something, I’d be there to help her. Not like I was particularly good at anything, but I could try at least. 

So I warmed up the soup that Ignis made, I cleaned up and fed her medicine. I felt a little proud of myself when she said I was “a little like Ignis today.”

I did everything I could to make sure she was okay. I spent pretty much everything I had on a games console and a pile of movies, but it was worth it to see the way that she looked at me when I showed her the King’s Knight cartridge. Though even that turned out to be terrible. 

Even though she was sick, I felt like she’d somehow managed to have a good day. Ignis visited to make us all dinner, Noct stopped by to have his ass handed to him by King’s Knight and she seemed to be in pretty high spirits.

She was the first to fall asleep when we finally got around to watching the movie that we’d been mentioning all day. She looked peaceful and unburdened by the flu that was clinging to her. I really should have moved to the couch and curled up there, but I didn’t. I just wanted to stay close to her.

Eventually, I fell asleep too, only to be woken up at 3am by her turning over in my arms. She didn’t seem as if she was angry. She actually seemed pretty content to have me there. 

That was what started the cogs turning in my head.

So I asked her about the guy she liked, and she described someone very similar to me, I thought. She said she thought I was cute.

Was Noct right? 

“It’s me, right?” I asked, almost like I knew something, but really, I didn’t know a thing.

“Excuse me?” she replied, her voice not much louder than a whisper.

“The guy you like. It’s me, right?”

“Why do you think it’s you?” she asked. I didn’t think it was me, but I just wanted to hope. Just a little bit. 

“Just a feeling,” I told her, trying to sound confident. I don’t know if it worked because I felt like I was going to be sick.

“So what if it is?” she asked, sounding like she was about to cry.

There were a few seconds of disbelief. It was me? I closed my eyes for a few seconds, trying to compose myself. My inner thoughts were garbled. One side of my brain was freaking out and already celebrating. But the other part made me think that asking her to be my girlfriend right now wasn’t a good idea. It was 3am, she was still sick. And she deserved so much better than what I could do at that moment. 

“Can you give me a couple of days?” I asked, opening my eyes to look at her. She looked terrified, though I could tell she was doing her best to keep herself together.

All that time, Noct really had been right. I’d have to thank him later.

Really, I never appreciated the heat of Lestallum. At that moment when I was wading through the snow, feeling like I was on the verge of collapsing, I missed it. I missed her.

It had been a few weeks since we’d spoken. I wondered if she ever got the feeling that something was wrong. And how wrong it was. My best friend hated me, and I was completely lost in this blizzard that never seemed to end. 

I thought of Noct for a few seconds as I collapsed to my knees. I just needed to understand why he hated me so much. That was something to cling onto so that I could stumble to my feet and continue on a little further. Just the idea of understand what it was that I'd done. 

It wasn’t enough, though. 

My body was weak, and every part of me was freezing. I fell first face into the snow beneath me, trying to breath. This was it. This was how I died.

And she’d never know. To her, and to Ignis, Gladio and Noct, I’d just be lost. I’d be in that limbo between dead and alive, and no one would know a thing. 

I just wanted to see her one more time so that I could tell her that I loved her. 

Somehow, I’d survived. I’d survived and I’d come to learn things about myself that I never really wanted to know while I was separated from her, and my friends. Most of which I could share with her, but there was just that one thing that I’d learnt about my existence that I couldn’t. 

It wasn’t because I didn’t trust her. It wasn’t because I thought she’d reject me, or hate me. I knew that she’d accept everything about who I was without question because that was who she was. 

It was because I was still afraid of what it meant for me. I wasn’t sure how normal my life would be because of it. I really was a coward.

Somehow, though, when I was finally back with her, she made me feel safe and secure. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve such a peaceful life after Noct was gone, but I didn’t argue with it. I didn’t want to ruin anything.

I was just happy staying with her, and I’d just thank the gods for giving me something to cling onto. I was happy to hold her while she slept, and walk with her to work. She was my hope, and I don’t think I ever told her that. 

When I first moved to Hammerhead, I felt like I was somehow taking a step backwards. I didn’t want to leave her on her own, and moving out of her apartment to live in a trailer of all things felt like the wrong thing for me to do. 

I had a duty, though. I was part of the Crownsguard, and it was my job to help to protect Noct. I’d already failed at that, but if he came back, I wanted to help him more than I had before. For the longest time, Noct had been the most important person to me. And that wasn’t just because it was my job. It was because he was my best friend. 

I quickly came to hate it in Hammerhead, but whenever I spoke to her, I made sure that I put on enough of a smile to make it seem like I was okay. I didn’t feel okay. For the longest time I didn’t feel okay, and I know that she didn’t either. She wasn’t okay because of me. 

The guilt eventually got the better of me, and I encouraged her to find someone else. I willingly encouraged her to leave and be happy, and I thought it was the right thing to do. The right thing to do, but it was so painful to watch her break apart in front of me. 

So we didn’t talk for a long time. There were so many times that I wanted to call her. I wanted to hear her voice, and ask if she still thought about me. Yet I didn’t want to seem weak, and I didn’t want to bother her after I’d been the one to tell her to go. It felt so stupid.

When Ignis called me, saying he could use some help with a hunt, I agreed, not knowing that I’d be going back to Lestallum for it. I wasn’t sure that I was quite ready to go back there, knowing that she’d be living her life. Maybe with someone else now, I didn’t know. 

But I’d already agreed, so I had to go.

Ignis didn’t make the trip particularly easy on me, and I knew that he was doing it on purpose right from the moment he told me he wanted to get something to eat on the first night I was there. He started walking us in the direction of the bar where I knew she’d be working.

“Ignis,” I said in a warning tone as I realised where it was that he was taking me. “This… really isn’t a good idea.”

He didn’t stop walking, but instead sighed just a little bit. 

“There’s something I want to show you,” he said firmly, and I knew there was no way of getting out of it without abandoning him. Even that seemed like a long shot. So I just walked with him. 

When we came to the front door of the bar, I had my hands shoved in my pockets to try and stop them from shaking. He came to a stop, as if he was thinking and he stayed quiet for a good minute or two as if he was listening for something. 

“She’s on her break now,” he told me, moving to go through the door. 

Sure enough, as I followed behind him, she was nowhere to be seen. We were greeted rather quickly by an unfamiliar face, and she saw us to our seats. We ended up just behind one of the walls that hid us from the bar completely, but we weren’t far enough away that I felt comfortable talking at my normal volume. 

Ignis explained that we’d been here many times before, and the waitress left us with some time to mull over what it was that we wanted to eat. Before we’d even started talking, Ignis reached under the table to bring up the book of all the performers at the bar. He practically slammed it down in front of me, making me jump back a little. 

“Look at it,” he said with the strictness in his voice I hadn’t heard since we were on the train. 

I flipped open the book, and the pages seemed thinner than before. I could see that a lot of the laminated pages had been cut out, and I could only assume those were some of the people that had gone missing. But as I started go to through the pages, I realised why he’d wanted me to come here.

Rena’s page wasn’t there anymore. 

I would have known if anything had happened to her, so why wasn’t she there?

I looked up to Ignis and leant in closer so that I could whisper to him. 

“Why isn’t she in here?” 

“She won’t say, but I can guarantee it’s because she essentially lost both of her best friends in the same day,” he told me quietly. “I doubt losing those you care about the most makes you want to sing and cheer people up that much.”

I hadn’t thought of it that way before. 

I sighed as I closed the book, putting it back under the table. 

“You know you can fix this, Prompto,” Ignis whispered to me. 

“I can’t. I can’t be with her right now because it’s not fair to her,” I replied, saying the same thing that I’d been telling myself for months. 

“I’m not saying that you two need to get back together and pretend that everything’s okay. I’m friends with her. I’m probably the closest friend that she has right now, but she still won’t talk to me about how she’s feeling. You can give her her friend back, because you were friends a long time before she was your girlfriend.”

He spoke quietly and calmly, and as I thought on what he was saying, I could have sworn that I heard her voice somewhere, asking for a customer's order. She sounded happy enough, but I’d remembered her talking about the facade that she donned when she worked. 

“You’re right. I don’t know when you got so wise to other people’s feelings and stuff,” I said as I pulled a menu closer to me, making sure to keep quiet. 

“I’ve always been wise to it. It’s just people tend to sort things out on their own eventually and you two are about as hopeless as you’ve ever been.”

We ordered food and drinks, and kept quiet most of the time that we were there. We weren’t all that far into our meals before I heard the doors to the bar burst open. I immediately stopped and held my hand out as if I was ready to summon my weapon if I needed to. I felt so on edge lately.

“You should’ve woken me up.”

It was Gladio’s voice, and I saw Ignis’ head tilt slightly as if he was trying to listen in just a little more. I put my hand down, relieved for a moment. Then I started thinking too much. Why was he sleeping at her apartment?

“I can get to work on my own fine. Besides, you looked completely exhausted. I felt bad waking you up.”

As I listened to them talk, I just pushed my food around my plate, suddenly feeling ill. I had no right to feel so bad because I’d told her to find happiness. And Gladio could’ve used it too. 

“They aren’t together,” Ignis murmured, his voice low enough so that they couldn’t hear us. 

“Oh,” I sighed. I wasn’t sure what else there was I could really say. I felt relieved, but that relief made me feel guilty. I’d made things so complicated. 

I was lost in my own thoughts for a long while. So much so that by the time I finally shook them off, she was gone, or at least I couldn’t hear her voice anymore. I missed it. I missed her. 

“You should really quit that,” I suddenly heard Gladio say, and it seemed to set my whole body on alert. 

“What are you talking about?” she asked. 

“You stink of cigarettes. Your apartment does as well. Quit it.”

“Look, if Ignis can lay off the lectures, I think you can do the same. Besides, it makes me feel better.”

“Whatever you say. I just know that both Amarantha and Prompto would be disappointed in you, that’s all.”

Gladio’s words made me unreasonably angry. Obviously I wanted what was best for her, but I wasn’t disappointed in her because of a bad habit she had. I wasn’t thinking straight, and I began to get out of my chair, but Ignis was quick to grab my arm as he heard me and haul me back down. 

“She can handle it, Prompto.”

And she did. 

She managed to get what sounded like a sincere apology out of him. I wasn’t sure that I’d heard one from him before. She didn’t need my help, but I did want her to know that I wasn’t disappointed in her.

“Hey, when’s your next day off?” Gladio asked her, and I couldn’t help but lean back slightly as I tried to listen just a little closer. 

“Tomorrow. I don’t work on weekends anymore.”

“Wanna go out for a few drinks?” he asked. 

As soon as he asked, I lost my balance completely, careening backwards off of my chair and clattering to the floor. The entire bar went completely silent, and everyone that could see our table turned to look at us. I felt embarrassed, but more than that, I was hoping that she hadn’t seen me.

Was he asking her out? On a date? Or had I completely misunderstood.

Our waitress rushed over to me and quickly got me up, asking if I was alright. 

I missed whatever was remaining of their conversation because of how the waitress was fussing over me. I had no idea if she’d said yes or not, and it made me feel… surprisingly lonely.

I didn’t mean to follow them. I really didn’t. 

It was just that I saw the two of them walking down the street together, her wearing that dress that she’d worn on their date before. They never even looked in my direction as they walked, and maybe I got over confident. 

Either way, I felt like I needed to know what was going on between them. It wasn’t my business, I knew that. But I was still following them down the dark streets of Lestallum, both of them completely unaware. 

I even stayed out of sight of them as they found their seats and began talking to one another, taking turns in looking at his phone, and in all honesty, it seemed innocent enough. I started to think that maybe they were just friends who needed an evening out. 

I felt like an idiot. I really was an idiot. 

Eventually, I decided that I’d finish my drink and leave them to it. And before I left to go back to Hammerhead, I’d call her and ask her if she wanted to meet so we could be friends again. Ignis was right. But I think I needed her friendship just as much as she needed mine. 

I still watched her for a little while out of the corner of my eye as she went to the bar. She was so beautiful. How was it that I still adored her? 

That was when she was cornered by someone I didn’t know who was touching her in a way that made me angry enough to spit venom. His arm was wrapped around her waist as he tried to pull her in closer. I couldn’t hesitate this time, I thought. 

But by the time I was standing up out of my seat so that I could help her, Gladio was already there. He pulled the drunk stranger away, wrapping his arm around her in the same way and I just stopped, staring at them, not caring if they saw me at this point. 

“Sorry, she’s spoken for,” Gladio said in a way that made him seem possessive, which was enough to make the stranger scamper off. I just saw red as the two exchanged a few more words, and I saw that he was pulling her closer, and closer, like he was going to kiss her. 

I don’t remember what it was that was willing me across the bar towards them. Perhaps it was jealousy, or rage, or a mix of the two. But whatever it was, it pushed me towards Gladio, sending my fist flying against his jaw. 

His bones felt like iron as my fist collided with him, but it was enough to make his arms drop from around her, at the very least. 

But, fuck, that really hurt my hand. 

After we’d made up, and started keeping in touch, my life felt a little more… strange than I was expecting. Hammerhead had never felt as empty before, and I just yearned to go back to Lestallum. I wanted Noct to hurry up so that I could be with her and be as committed as I possibly could be. 

I’d just gotten back in from a hunt on that particular day, and was trying to rub the dirt away from my face as Cor gave me a firm pat on the back, like he was telling me well done. It had been a pretty good hunt. 

I was beelining for my trailer, because I was so exhausted that I just wanted to collapse face first on my bed and sleep for a thousand years. That was when I was caught by the arm by one of the hunters that lived in Hammerhead. 

She was this small brunette girl, a few years younger than me who was looking up at me through her large brown eyes. I’d run into her a few times. We’d eaten together along with some of the other hunters, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember what her name was. 

“Hey Prompto,” she said, sounding nervous. 

“Hi,” I replied, not really hiding how tired I felt. 

“How was your hunt?”

“Same as ever, I suppose,” I replied, not really feeling like I wanted to get too much into detail about what had happened. It had been successful, no one was hurt, and I wanted to sleep. That was about all that there was to say. 

“I’m glad you came back safe,” she said, smiling slightly. 

“I always do,” I said, trying to sound cheerful, but it came out through a long yawn instead. “Well, I’m going to go to sleep. It’s been a long day.”

I started to back away a little bit, because she was still clinging onto my arm and it felt weird. 

“Wait, I have a question for you before you go,” she said, tugging on my arm again. I looked down at her, stopping to give her a minute. 

“Alright,” I said, trying to hold back another yawn.

“Oh, okay. Alright. Uhm. Okay. I was wondering if maybe you, uhm, were free this weekend?”

I tilted my head at her, trying my best to remember her name, and trying to work out what she was asking.

“Do you need help with a job, or something?” I asked.

“Oh, no. I wondered if you maybe wanted to, uhm, I don’t know. Hang out?”

“Hang out?”

“Y’know. Just me and you. Hanging out.”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

Her face went bright red, but she nodded as she whimpered slightly. 

I was an awful person. I didn’t even feel remotely flattered. I just thought about Rena, and how much I missed her. I wondered if she’d been asked out on a date, yet. 

“You don’t have to answer right now. You can, uh, think about it or uh, I don’t know, check if you’re free,” she said quickly after she noticed that I wasn’t smiling at her. 

She let me go and began to scamper away towards what was once the diner. 

“Wait,” I said, turning to look at her. She stopped dead at my words. “I don’t need time to think about it. I already have someone who I love, very much. So, I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Oh… is it Cidney?”

“Why does everyone always think that?” I sighed as I tried to find a comfortable way to stand. “No. Her name is Rena. She lives in Lestallum. She was my girlfriend for a long time.”

“Was? So you’re, like, uh, in love with your ex?”

“I guess it’s hard to explain, but she’s not my ex-girlfriend. We just had to put things on hold for a while. But I plan to go back to her. So I can’t hang out with you. Sorry,” I explained. 

She seemed more confused than anything. 

I was rejecting her because I used to have a girlfriend is what she thought. She didn’t understand, but at the same time, she didn’t have to. 

Without saying another word, I made my way to the trailer, pulling my phone out of my pocket along with my keys. It was just about 4am, but I wanted to talk to her. I wondered how she’d feel if I told her that I’d been asked on a date. 

Then my mind started to spiral. I thought about Rena. I thought about Amarantha and Gladio. I thought about the girl who had asked me on a date, and how I knew that really I was on borrowed time when it came to our relationship. 

I knew one thing.

Hammerhead didn’t make me happy. Neither did Lestallum, really. 

But that’s where she was, and that’s where I wanted to be.

So why wasn’t I there?

The next day, I woke up and I could hear her even breathing on the other end of the phone. Really, I should have thanked the girl who had asked me on the date, because it had, for some reason, knocked some sense into me. 

As soon as I’d gathered my bearings, I sat up, holding the phone in my hands. 

“I love you,” I whispered to her, not wanting to wake her up before I ended the call, and began to look about my trailer. There wasn’t much that I owned, not really. It could all be fit inside a box and a backpack. So I started packing things away. I took the photos off of the wall, I wrapped up the small wooden chocobo carving, packed away the framed photo that really belonged to her.

Most importantly, the flowers that I’d made her for her birthday. She’d been in such a rush to leave that she’d left them behind. So they’d been sat alongside the photo for over a year. They were the last thing that I packed. I balanced them on top of the box because they’d be crushed by everything else. 

Slowly, I packed away the little pieces of my life until I was sat in a rather empty looking trailer. 

All that I had left to do was talk to Cor. 

He was surprisingly understanding of what it was that I’d decided to do. He told me that he thought that I’d improved a lot over the last five years, and that as long as I kept up the hard work in Lestallum, there wasn’t much more for me in Hammerhead. 

“Besides,” he chuckled. “We could use the trailer.”

It was the next day that I left to go to Lestallum. The hunters that I’d made friends with over the years I’d been there were happy enough to give me a nice send off, wishing me luck with the hunts I’d be taking on elsewhere. 

I wasn’t particularly close with any of them, so it didn’t feel as if it was difficult to say goodbye, and as I packed my things into the back seat of my car, I felt excited to see her. It’d only be a few more hours, I thought. 

The drive felt long, and arduous, but eventually, I saw Lestallum glowing from it’s perch. She was just there, I thought. We were so close to being together again. 

I pulled my car up into an empty space, and I quickly collected my things. I didn’t run, but I was walking at a fast pace, trying to figure out how it was that I was going to greet her. Would it be too much if I just dropped the box of things that I had and scooped her up into my arms?

Probably.

I considered it for a little longer until I was outside of her door. With a deep breath, I knocked on the door with my free hand, and waited for a minute. She didn’t answer. 

Maybe she didn’t hear the first time.

So I knocked again. Nothing. 

I pulled the key that I still had to her apartment out of my back pocket, still attached to the keyring from the chocobo post. I opened the door, and the apartment was dark, aside from the fairy lights that were wrapped around her bed frame, but they were always on, as far as I knew.

I placed my things on the floor, and began to search the rooms. The bathroom was empty, the kitchen was empty, and she was nowhere to be seen in the main room. I stopped for a minute, looking at the clock. 

She could’ve been at work, I thought. 

So I quickly locked the door again, and took off towards the bar. This time, I was running as I had the thought of Gladio and Amarantha cross my mind. But she’d be at the bar, I knew she’d be at the bar. 

I burst through the door, eyes darting around as I searched for her. She wasn’t there. 

“Can I help you?” one of the waitresses asked me, a slight frown on her face. 

“Is Rena working today?” I asked. 

She thought for a second, but it felt like she was considering my question for hours. 

“I don’t think so. I’ll ask the boss,” she said as she seemed to have the same thoughts that I did. She quickly darted off, into the back room to leave me pacing around slightly. It was only a minute before the boss came careening out of the back, rushing straight towards me. 

“She’s not at home?” he asked, and I shook my head. “I just tried calling her, she didn’t answer.”

By now my hands were shaking and my mouth felt dry. 

He tapped his head a few times as if he was trying to think of where she could be. 

“I’ll try calling Gladio and Ignis,” I said, my voice trembling out of fear. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and she hadn’t tried to contact me while I’d been on my way to Lestallum. 

Ignis was the first person I called. He hadn’t seen her, but he told me he was on his way to the bar. Gladio was next, and he hadn’t seen her either. Gladio perhaps sounded more panicked than Ignis. He just kept swearing under his breath as I heard him stumble around. 

We agreed to meet at the bar, and it was only a few minutes before the Gladio was there. 

“We get the hunters together, and we go now,” Gladio said as he saw me. 

“Go where?” I asked. 

“Go to find her.”

“Where is she?”

“I… don’t know, but we have to find her,” he said, his nostrils flaring slightly to show how angry he felt. 

I was just in disbelief. I’d just talked to her yesterday and she was fine. We were going to get back together, and we were going to be happy, weren’t we?

Ignis was just half a minute behind Gladio.

“We have to go now,” Gladio repeated. 

“Gladio, were you there to pick her up last night?” Ignis asked, his voice sharper than usual.

“I thought you were supposed to pick her up,” Gladio replied, his words slowing down as the realisation dawned on him. “You were on a hunt, weren’t you?”

“I was,” Ignis replied. He sounded as if he was trying to suppress any anger that he felt. “We need to go and get the hunters together. Right now.”

I turned to the boss who was stood watching us with a look of horror on his face.

“If you hear anything, let me know,” I said as we dashed out of the front door. 

It took us half an hour to find Dave, who seemed to be able to wrangle a lot of hunters who were just waiting on work to come through. There was a group of about fifteen of us, and none of us had a clue about what we were supposed to do. It felt surreal, honestly.

That was when I heard the clicking of boots against the tarmac, and I looked up toward the sound to see someone who I recognised, but someone I hadn’t seen in years. 

“Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she asked as she sidled up towards us. “I just saw the gathering here and had to see what was going on.”

“You could not have come at a more perfect time, Aranea,” Ignis said, straightening up slightly. 

“What’s going on?” she asked, frowning slightly as she looked around at all of the hunters that were gathered and trying to come up with a plan of action. 

“My girlfriend…” I started trying to say, but my words got stuck in my throat. 

“We can’t find her,” Ignis said, finishing my thought. “She’s quite important to us, so we’d like to find her. We could use your help.”

“Count me in,” she said, firmly nodding towards me, and giving me what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. “So what do we do?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Gladio sighed, and I could tell that he felt guilty about what had happened. 

That was when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out, almost dropping it in my haste. Rena’s picture was glowing on my phone, and I held it up to my ear as I answered.

“Hello?” My voice sounded panicked and rushed. 

“Prompto?” she whispered to me. “I think I’m in trouble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is something I've had planned since I first started writing this, but it suuuucked trying to get it right. And I think it might be the longest chapter so far. I'm not sure. 
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm trying to get a bunch of chapters out before I'm away on holiday for a couple of weeks and I'm not too sure of the internet situation where I'm going. And I kind of don't want to leave you guys on a cliffhanger for two weeks.


	38. Chapter 38

For a few seconds, I just looked at Amarantha in front of me in disbelief. I felt relieved before realising that wherever we were wasn’t exactly the safest place possible. I guessed that I’d been one of those who had been careless enough to get taken.

I looked around a little, but we were mostly in the dark. It was hard to see. I knew that we were moving, like we were in the back of a truck, and we were among a group of about 6 more people. 

“Are you alright?” I finally whispered to Amarantha. She let out a long breath, and I could tell from the way that she spoke before that she was exhausted and weak.

“I’m fine. A little better for seeing you, though the circumstances are less than ideal,” she said in a low voice. 

I tried to move my hands so that I could give her a hug, but they were tangled up behind my back. I couldn’t move them, despite how I was struggling. I wasn’t sure what to do, but there wasn’t a part of me that wanted to give up. Not after the phone call with Prompto. Not after I’d finally found Amarantha. 

“Is Gladio okay?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly. 

I smiled at her, trying to reassure her, but I wasn’t sure that she could see me in the darkness of wherever we were. 

“Yeah, he’s okay. He hasn’t stopped looking for you since you disappeared,” I told her. I heard her sniffle slightly as if she was ready to cry out of relief. 

After a few seconds of my eyes darting around the confined space, I saw a small piece of metal jutting out of the wall that glistened in the light that every so often filtered in through the gaps in the walls. I scooched over to the wall so that the metal on the wall was just behind my hands and tried to saw away at my binds. They felt like rope, at least, so maybe it would work. 

And after a few minutes, it did. The rope came free and as soon as it was off I quickly scrambled back over to Amarantha to check her over. She was weak and malnourished, but she didn’t look as if she was injured. She didn’t argue with me as I started trying to untangle her own binds, but they were well tied and I couldn’t figure them out in the darkness around us.

“Did they take your phone?” she whispered. I patted the pockets of my uniform. I still had a packet of cigarettes in one of the pockets of my skirt, and a lighter in the other one. I sighed as I patted my shirt pocket, and felt relieved when I felt my phone there. I pulled it out, and looked at the screen. 

I still had a signal, and it still had a lot of it’s charge left. I had a few missed calls from my boss too. 

It would have made the most sense to call either Ignis or Gladio. I knew that. But I needed to talk to Prompto. I needed to hear his voice, and then I would call the other two. 

I clicked on his name, and brought the phone to my ear. It only rang twice before he answered. 

“Hello?!”

He sounded panicked.

“Prompto?” I whispered back to him. “I think I’m in trouble.”

“Where are you? I’m in Lestallum and I can’t find you,” he told me as he rushed over his words.

“I… I don’t know where I am. I don’t think I’m in Lestallum, though. We’re moving,” I told him as quietly as I could. 

“We? What do you mean we?”

“I’m not on my own. I’m with Amarantha and some other people that I can’t really see,” I tried to explain, but there wasn’t much information I could give him. 

“Is she awake?” he asked. 

“Yeah.”

“Can you put her on the phone for a minute?”

“Yeah. Just incase I don’t get to say it again, I love you, Prompto,” I said as I tried to swallow the fear that was building in my stomach. 

“I love you too, but I’m going to find you, alright? We’ll figure something out.”

I nodded a little, knowing he couldn’t see it before I laid the phone down on the floor next to Amarantha’s face. 

“It’s for you,” I told her, and she shuffled so that her ear was over the phone. While she did so, I took the lighter out of my pocket and made my way behind her. I may not have been able to untie her, but I could try and burn away the rope that was keeping her restrained. 

There were a few minutes of silence before I heard Amarantha’s small voice, wavering like she was trying to stop herself from crying.

“Gladio? Is that really you?” 

So Prompto must have been with him already, I thought. I worked away quietly as she spoke to him, trying to burn away the rope without hurting her. 

“I’m hungry,” she whispered before laughing slightly. “I’m hungry and I miss you.”

I knew that he was telling her that he missed her too. 

“I don’t know where I am,” she went on to explain as the rope finally frayed enough for me to pull it away. Around where the rope was, her wrists had these blisters and friction burns as if she’d been confined for quite a long time. My heart sank. I should have helped to look for her. “There’s about eight of us.”

It sounded like she was just relaying the information that I’d already told Prompto. So I let her talk to him, as it had been a long time since they’d had the chance to just talk. I busied myself with looking at the other people under the light of my lighter. None of them were awake aside from me and Amarantha. 

I found two other familiar faces among them. Lucas and Irene who also worked at the bar that went missing at the same time Amarantha did. Lucas was unconscious, but he was breathing at least. Irene wasn’t breathing at all. 

I didn’t really know what it was I was supposed to do. I didn’t know anything about saving people’s lives. I just fell back and sat over her, willing her silently to start breathing somehow. I was too scared to touch her though. 

So I just sat there, thinking for a little while before Amarantha whispered over to me. 

“Rena. I think Prompto wants to talk to you.”

I slowly shuffled back over, picking the phone up as she rolled onto her back and rubbed at her wrists. 

“Prompto?” I questioned quietly.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said, trying to sound reassuring. 

“One of the girls in here isn’t breathing,” I said as quietly as I possibly could, hoping Amarantha wouldn’t hear. I didn’t want her to panic. I was trying my best not to panic myself. Suddenly, it was like the road beneath us became bumpier as we were being jostled around a little more vigorously than before. It felt familiar, but I couldn’t think why. 

“You’re sure?” he asked after a second of not really knowing what to say. 

“I’m sure.”

“Shit,” he said under his breath. I heard Ignis in the background question Prompto on what was wrong, and Prompto relayed the information. “You and Amarantha do whatever it takes to keep each other safe, alright?”

“Of course,” I told him. “And don’t rush off and get yourself hurt for me, alright?”

“I’m not going to promise that. You know I said I’d fight for you and I meant it. I still mean it,” he said quietly, like he didn’t want anyone else to hear. 

“At least try to be careful,” I said, trying to sound as cheerful as I could, but I felt like I was on the verge of crying out of fear. 

“I need you to stay on the phone with me for as long as you can, okay? So if you see anything that can help us find you, you can tell us. We’ve got a bunch of us ready to go and get you as soon as we know anything. Alright?”

“Okay,” I agreed, trying to keep my breath steady. I was still terrified though, so I did the only thing I could think to do. I reached over to Amarantha’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. I felt her hand grasp onto my own. She felt cold, and the way she was holding my hand felt weak. But she was there, and she was real. I just needed to keep her safe. 

I tried to shuffle us as far to the back of the space as I could without disturbing anyone else, still keeping her hand in mine. 

“You know, Rena. I’m so glad that you found me,” Amarantha suddenly started mumbling, her voice sounding more tired than before. “I don’t mean now, really. I missed you a lot, though. I mean, I’m glad you found me in the bar and I’m glad that you’re my best friend.”

Her head started lulling to the side slightly, and her grip was loosening on my hand. 

“No. No, no, no. You have to stay awake, alright? You can’t go to sleep until I’ve finished telling you all about how much I love you, alright?” I started saying, dropping the phone into my lap so I could try and keep her head steady with the other hand that wasn’t already gripping onto hers.

She giggled slightly, but her eyes were closing. 

“But I’m so tired. And I know you could talk for hours if you wanted to,” she said, laughing still. “I love you too, by the way. Thanks for finding me.”

Then her head rolled onto my shoulder as she lost consciousness. She was still breathing at the very least so I had to believe she was exhausted. I picked up the phone again, knowing I was the only person in the back of the truck that was awake. 

“Is she okay?” Prompto asked as I let out a sigh.

“I think she’s asleep,” I said, looking at her to make sure she was still alive. 

“I don’t think I asked if you were okay,” he suddenly noted. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“My head hurts a little, but otherwise I’m okay.”

“You promise?”

“I mean, I’m okay aside from I don’t really know what to do because I’m sat in the back of a truck and I don’t know where I am and I have a dead waitress from the bar here as company.”

I sighed, resting my head atop Amarantha’s. 

“I’m so fucking scared, Prompto.”

“I know, but you’re doing everything that you should be doing. You’ve checked over everyone, right? And you’re looking after Amarantha. You’re doing amazing, so just be brave for a little bit longer so I can come and get you.”

“Yeah,” I managed to breath. “I’ll do my best.”

I knew that at that moment, they were just treading water as they tried to figure out what to do. They were just standing around in Lestallum without a clue about where any of us were, and that made me uneasy that they could be halfway across the country to where we were by now. 

That was when the truck stopped moving, and the engine turned off. My heart started beating wildly as a sense of dread set in. I wanted to cry, but I needed to stay as brave as I could to keep Amarantha safe. That was the only thing I could think.

“We’ve stopped,” I whispered.

“Put your phone in your pocket or something, okay?”

“Okay. I love you.”

“I love you. Just try and find out where you are and say it out loud. I’ll be listening for it.”

With a final nod, I tucked my phone back into my shirt pocket and I waited. I gripped onto Amarantha’s hand as I waited. I could still hear that she was breathing. Slowly, I rolled her head away from me and made it so that she was laying down again, albeit curled up slightly. 

I heard doors slamming, and conversation outside of where I was sat. I couldn’t figure out any of the words, it was just this low hum. I couldn’t place any of the voices. They didn’t sound familiar. 

I was just trying to focus on breathing, and trying to figure out a way to try and get us out of this mess. Absolutely fucking nothing was coming to mind. 

Eventually, the sound of the door opening filled my ears; the sound of metal scraping against metal as it rolled up and my eyes were met with the brightness of the flashlights that were being pointed towards me. I turned away to try and shield my eyes, but the bright shapes seemed to be burned into my retinas just a little bit. 

“Looks like one of them woke up,” a voice said. It was low and masculine, and entirely unfamiliar. After blinking a few times, I turned to glare at them, though I couldn’t see anything to try and identify where I was. Just the dazzling lights as they shone them towards me. 

“And somehow managed to get herself free,” another voice said. 

“You want to come out of there on your own, darling? Nice and slow,” a third voice piped in. The voice itself wasn’t familiar, but something about the inflection of the words almost made me remember someone. His words were slow, drawling almost. 

Warily, I stood up, leaning against the wall as I tried to steady myself. My head ached as I did so, just at the back where I’d been hit before. I carefully stepped over the other people in the back of the truck, and past Irene who was the most pale out of all of them, now that I could see her properly. Her eyes were rolled back into her head, and it turned my stomach.

I slowly stepped down so that I was on the ground, stood in front of the three figures that I still couldn’t really see. 

“W-where are we?” I asked, my voice showing how scared I really felt. 

The third voice chuckled slightly. 

“So you want to know where we are? Is it so you can tell your boyfriend where it is he can find you?” he asked, leaning forward so that he could look me straight in the eyes. 

He didn’t look like anyone I’d seen before, but his voice was still so familiar. He sneered at me as I didn’t break eye contact with him. Then, like he knew all along, his hand reached for my front pocket and quickly retrieved my phone that was still glowing with Prompto’s photo. He held it in such a strange manner, towards his ear, a smirk across his lips. 

“Prompto Argentum, is it?”

I couldn’t even fight to snatch my phone back. I stilled at the way he spoke his name, almost like they were old friends.

“Oh, I make no promises, boy. But I would like it if you would come and find your poor, scared girlfriend before something… terrible, happens.”

I felt confused, and tried to search my mind for why on earth he would want me to be found after they’d gone to such trouble. 

He considered his words for a few seconds, looking at me, and to his cohorts. It was clear, whoever this man was, that he was their leader. And he took a really long time to say anything at all

“She’ll be at the Vesperpool along with the rest of them,” he finally said. At those words, a switch in me flipped. I panicked for Prompto and the hunters. They were walking right into a trap, of that I was sure. 

“Prompto! Don’t, it’s a tr-”

Before I’d gotten to finish my sentence, one of the other men lunged forward, grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling on it harshly. That was enough to stop me as I began to fall over at the sheer force at which he’d yanked on my long hair. That wasn’t enough, though. 

Then, he pushed my head to the side, sending my head into the metal frame of the truck. I could feel blood begin to pour down my face as my eyes rolled backwards. I let out one last gurgle as I tried to warn Prompto but I couldn’t form any words. Just a meaningless sound as everything went dark once again. 

Once I came to, my vision was blurry and I could barely see anything around me in the dark of the night. But the moon was showing itself, giving me a decent amount of moonlight with which to see. I couldn’t help but smile just a little bit as I noticed the sheer amount of stars that were scattered across the canvas of the sky. 

I wondered if it had been long since I’d been knocked out.

Even though I knew that my life was in danger, I was happy that for that moment. The air was still, the silence around me almost eerie, but it was blissful for a short while. 

That was until the wind began to pick up, almost bringing me back to life, and making me realise the gravity of the situation I was in. It was like the wind was enough to well up the panic from within me; the feeling that I’d somehow managed to push down until then. 

My hands had been bound behind me again, but I still managed to push myself up from the mud underneath me to look around. Whoever it was that had taken me was honest at least. As I started to look around in front of me, this place was indeed the Vesperpool. Or at least it seemed like it from what I remembered. 

The wind made the trees behind me almost groan, and I slowly turned to look behind me, freezing at what I saw. I could feel my face pale as I saw them. 

The largest tree was behind me, it’s branches creaking slightly from the weight on them. From what I could see, hanging from the tree were a series of bodies, maybe seven of them, bound up by their hands. My wide eyes wandered to each of them, as genuine fear crept into my stomach. 

The first was an older male, his muscular arms that were decorated with feathers looked strained under the weight of his own body, dark hair, cuts littering his face and chest, eyes still open as he looked at me, lifeless; dangling.

The second, a girl, her short blonde hair matted with blood, red cap atop her head, her young face still showing signs of sheer terror, lifeless; dangling.

The third, another young woman, Irene, as I recognised her. Her short brown hair was moving slightly in the wind, her face showing no signs of distress, her eyes closed, almost peaceful, yet lifeless; dangling. 

The fourth, a young man, his light brown hair was kept neatly, his glasses somehow still on his face, yet behind them there were no eyes, just an empty space, lifeless; dangling. 

The fifth was another younger man with hair that was as dark as the night. His body had been disfigured the most as it was hard to see much of his skin through the thousands and thousands of cuts that covered his arms, his neck, his legs, his face. Resting on top of his head was a crown of sorts that had been made of dead flowers and dried grass. A false prince hung from the tree, lifeless; dangling. 

The sixth was another young man, messy blonde hair, head slumped forward, but his bare arms covered in black lines and diamonds and numbers that looked as if they’d been drawn on. His body had bullet wounds all over the torso, and one right through his head. The blood that was smeared across his face looked fresh and almost glinted in the moonlight. He was lifeless; dangling. 

The last was a young woman, her long brown hair in loose curls, her head rolled to the side, her eyes wide, her throat slit and her blood covering the white shirt of her uniform.  The uniform that I was wearing. Her whole body was covered in these huge gashes that could have only been made from a huge and terrifying weapon. Unmistakably, hanging from the tree, was my best friend, lifeless; dangling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the feeling that a lot of people are going to be kinda mad at me right now for what I've done. I actually didn't realise that many people cared about Amarantha until after I'd decided what was going to happen to her. So uh, yeah. Sorry? Please don't be mad at me.


	39. Chapter 39

I sat there for what felt like hours, looking up at the bodies that looked as if they’d been dressed up for display. For a while, I was in shock and disbelief, yet these painful sobs seemed to force their way out of my stomach as I cried for her. It hadn’t been that long since I’d been clutching at Amarantha’s hand, and she’d been holding mine. 

Her eyes were still wide open, though not looking towards me. I couldn’t even try and pretend that she was still alive, sleeping peacefully. 

She was dead. 

She was dead, as were the others that hung alongside her. 

Then, why was it that I was still alive?

It was as the sobs died down, but the tears were streaming down my face that I heard the bushes and dried plants behind me rustle, as if someone was coming towards me. I turned around slightly, to look who it was, and internally, I felt surprised. Outwardly, I didn’t move.

Prompto was slowly and cautiously approaching me, looking around me as if he was looking for signs of danger. In his hand, he had his gun pointed towards the floor as he moved closer.

“I finally found you,” he said towards me, something about his voice odd. This all seemed a bit too easy, I thought. So I turned back to look at Amarantha. 

“Say,” I started, my voice a murmur. “Can you tell me what my name is? I don’t seem to remember.”

“Of course I can,” he said as he crouched down next to me. He wasn’t touching me, nor was he making a move to untie me. “You’re Medea.”

I’d had a faint suspicion that there was something a little larger at play, but as soon as he told me what he thought my name was, I understood a lot more. 

“It’s been a while, Ardyn.”

He chuckled a little bit before his fingers grasped the side of my face to turn me so that I’d look at him. I didn’t want to. The smirk that he wore was so unlike anything that Prompto could muster. It was evil. 

“You’re quite smart, aren’t you, girl?” he said as he tried to make eye contact with me, but my gaze was trying to avoid him. “It’s a shame that you were so careless. Especially when you’d been so careful since your best friend went missing. If you’d just waited at the bar instead of leaving on your own, none of this would have had to happen.”

“I didn’t kill her. This isn’t my fault. You did this,” I said firmly, though my voice told him that I didn’t feel very confident at what I was saying.

“No. You didn’t. And it’s not my fault, either. You can blame your dear Prince for all of this,” he said as he rocked backwards on his feet to stand up. He started pacing around me, twirling his weapon in his fingers expertly. 

“I don’t… understand,” I whimpered, looking up at my best friend again. 

“Is it understanding that you want? Because I’d be more than happy to oblige,” he said, his tone taunting. 

I couldn’t speak, so I nodded, knowing that his eyes were on me. 

I did want to understand. I desperately wanted to know why my best friend had to die. 

“You see, you might know that there isn’t a person in the world that I despise more than Noctis. The details would be lost on you, so I trust that you’ll just understand that I hate him. I loathe him. And he isn’t here for me to torment right now. He’s sitting somewhere in limbo, not quite alive, not quite dead. Unfortunately for you, you decided to get involved with his entourage.”

It was then that he stopped pacing to crouch down beside me. He leant forward so that I could feel his breath on my ear, and he began whispering to me.

“And since those men that you cherish oh so much are the closest thing that I have to the dear Prince, they are going to be the ones that I torment while I’m bored.”

Again, he stood up, and this time began to rifle through one of his pockets. He’d caught my attention, and he produced the packet of cigarettes that had been in my pocket and a lighter. 

“Would you like one? You might as well indulge in one of your vices since the threads of your life are very quickly fraying.”

I thought on it for a second. I didn’t know how long it would take before the real Prompto would get here, and it seemed like a good way to buy a little time, so I nodded. He smirked again, producing a small knife out of what seemed like thin air and he knelt down again to cut the ties on my wrist in a few small movements. 

“I’m trusting that you won’t be going anywhere,” he said in a warning tone as he gave me the packet and the lighter.

“You’d just shoot me anyway, wouldn’t you?” I asked as I took it out and placed it in between my lips. He chuckled again as he began to pace again. It took a few attempts to light it because my hands were shaking so much. It was strange, but the longer I looked at the bodies hanging from the tree, the less afraid I felt. 

I wasn’t sure if I was still existing in the denial stage of grief. Or maybe I felt like I belonged up there beside her because at the end of the day, I’d failed to keep her safe.

“Anyway, where was I?” he considered for a moment.

“Do you think I could perhaps talk to you as Ardyn, rather than Prompto?” I found myself asking without really thinking about it. 

I heard his footsteps behind me, and they circled around so that suddenly, almost like he was just an illusion, Ardyn, as I remembered him, was stood in front of me. 

“You’re getting awfully greedy with these requests,” he said in his smooth, drawling voice. 

“I suppose I should apologise for seeming greedy,” I said, laughing a humourless laugh. “You were telling me about how you enjoy tormenting those close to Noct.”

“Ah, you’re right,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “The long and short of it is that I decorated this tree, especially for Prompto and Gladio. It would have been for Ignis if he could see, but I’m sure someone will at least tell him what’s happened. I had the help of a couple of ex-hunters who have gone a bit crazy over the years. They were stupid enough to think that feeding the daemons like this would keep them safe,” he said, laughing loudly. “People are just so  _ funny  _ when they get desperate.”

“So you kept some of these people for a year to make a point?” I asked, trying to surmise the whole situation in my head. 

“I suppose if you wanted to simplify the whole situation,” he said, sounding somewhat annoyed. “I should thank you, really. This whole thing is finally coming to it’s grand finale because of you.”

I looked to him, and frowned. By this time, I was perhaps a quarter of the way through my cigarette. 

“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously. 

“You were the bait, my dear. You were the last piece to this puzzle. I knew that all three of them would come running after you as soon as they realised that something was wrong, and you’d be taking them right to this tree.”

He came to kneel beside me again as he flicked my head right where it had been slammed into the truck, sending a jolt of pain shooting through my head. 

“Though, that part I think you’d figured out, hadn’t you?”

“I had a suspicion. I just wished I’d realised it sooner. I should have thought something was odd when I still had my phone, really.”

“Indeed, I agree,” he said as he sat himself down beside me, tapping the gun against his knee impatiently. “Is there anything else you want to know?”

“How many people went missing because of you?”

“Just the ones on the tree. Oh, and you, of course. Though, I assure you, the others that are missing are dead. They’ve quite probably been taken by people who think similarly to my two companions. People who think they’re keeping themselves safe by feeding the things that they’re so afraid of.”

I was halfway through my cigarette by that point, knowing that I was running out of time. 

“How will you decorate me?” I asked, looking up to the tree one more time. 

“Hm. Let’s see if you understand exactly what happened to your best friend,” he said as he pointed to her. “What kind of weapon do you think made those kinds of wounds?”

“I don’t know much about weapons,” I told him.

“Well, do you know what kind of weapon Gladio uses?”

“A greatsword?” I asked. I didn’t really know as I’d never seen them fight before, but I’d heard it mentioned what felt like a lifetime ago. 

“Correct!” he said, a hint of delight in his voice as he clapped his hands just a single time. Then, he leaned in to whisper to me again. “So when I killed her, she saw Gladio and his greatsword. Just like you will see Prompto and his gun.”

I absolutely wasn’t thinking straight at that point as I turned to him, the flames of anger lit in my eyes as I sent my head careening into his. My god, did my head hurt, but I didn’t care as it was enough to send the palm of his hand flying to the spot where I’d headbutted him. 

I didn’t stand up, I didn’t try to run away, I just glared at him as his skin seemed to ooze with this disgusting black liquid.

“I suppose I should be impressed that you aren’t a coward, and that you have gumption,” he said, an edge of anger to his voice as he stood up. He wobbled just slightly before he shook his head, which seemed to get rid of whatever the darkness was that was crawling out of him. “But your time is up, I’m afraid.”

I took one last drag of my cigarette, and flicked away the still burning embers of it. Then I looked up at Ardyn. I wasn’t going to show him an inch of fear. Instead, all he could have seen was the burning rage that was exuding from the very core of my being. 

He placed his foot on my shoulder and looked down on me as he slowly forced me back into the mud, and grass beneath me. My view was full of him, and the tree. I closed my eyes for just a minute to try and steady myself one last time.

It’d be over soon. 

It was a relieving thought. At least I wouldn’t have to remember the image of my best friend hanging from the tree, alongside the false and distorted images of the people I knew. 

When I opened my eyes, Ardyn was still stood over me, but this time wearing the mask of Prompto. 

“Any last words?” he said as he raised the gun up, and up, and up until it was resting directly on my forehead. 

I thought of the the things I wanted to say to Prompto. He already knew that I loved him. He already knew that I cared for him above anyone else in the world. But I don’t think he knew how thankful I was for every nice thing he’d done for me.

I was thankful that he did the small things. He’d make me soup when I was sick. He’d sit on the phone with me for as long as he could if I was upset. He’d make sure that he’d let me sleep for as long as possible when I had to work, and he’d wake me up in the gentlest way possible.  

I thought of the way that we’d sit for hours decorating the pages of the scrapbook, or the way that we’d eat an entire hot pot between us without leaving any leftovers. I was thankful for what was our normal. I was thankful that if I had to die, I knew that I’d die knowing that he meant it when he said that he’d come home. 

So really, if I had to have last words, I wanted to thank Prompto for everything that he did for me, and every positive emotion he’d bestowed on me. I was just a horrible person who had been living in the dark in Insomnia. I had no meaning, or purpose, but he saw something in me that I didn’t. 

That was what I wanted to thank him for. For finding something in me that was worth loving. 

My life had been grey, and colourless. That was, until it wasn’t. 

Prompto, and his friends who became my friends, and Amarantha and Iris and my boss had all brought colour to my otherwise dull life. 

If I really thought about it, if being without them would have changed the outcome and would have granted me safety, I still wouldn’t have changed a single thing. 

“Any last words?” he asked again. 

So I looked up at Ardyn one last time. Ardyn who was disguised as Prompto. And I smiled at him.

“None for you.”

His arm dropped, moving the gun from my forehead. And he laughed. He laughed as if I’d said the funniest thing in the world. He threw his head back as he let out this long, evil cackle that took him a minute to calm down from. 

“Oh, you really have no respect for me, do you?” he managed to say through his uncontrollable laughter.

I shook my head, refusing to speak. 

So he grinned at me, still standing over me. 

He fired the gun. 

Once. Twice. Three times. A fourth. Five times. Six. 

He tried to fire it again, but it clicked as the gun had been unloaded. 

It didn’t occur to me straight away what exactly it was that he’d done. I didn’t feel as if I was in pain for what felt like a long while. But then I felt a burning sensation in my leg, in my left knee specifically. 

“Then I’ll leave you for the daemons,” he said, his voice cold as he began to walk away. I watched as he began to disappear into the bracken that surrounded the trees, and very vaguely heard him click his fingers as he left. “Oh, and one more thing,” he shouted towards me. “If you somehow survive, I won’t come after you. Just be sure to tell them exactly what happened here, and more importantly, do mention my name, won’t you?”

Then, he disappeared from my view.

Then, from behind me, I heard what sounded like a mix between metal creaking and an otherworldly moan. My head turned slowly to see what looked like a giant emerge from the ground, it’s sword alone perhaps four times the size of me. 

Was this supposed to be an opportunity to survive? 

I looked to Amarantha one more time. 

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t do more for you,” I told her. “But you wouldn’t want me to give up, right?”

So I sat myself up. The pain still hadn’t quite set in what the wounds that were on my knee, but as I tried to move my leg, I couldn’t. It was just this limp limb that I had that was only going to slow me down. I undid the belt around my skirt that was part of my uniform and secured it around my leg, thinking that was probably the right thing to do from what little first aid I knew. I did it as quickly as I could as this huge creature was slowly emerging from the ground, imbued with this horrible dark energy that made me very aware of how dangerous it was. 

Once I’d done that, I used my hands and my one leg that was still working to dig into the mud and push me backwards, away from the giant in front of me. God, I was moving so slowly, but this was the best chance I had. 

It didn’t seem like I’d had ten seconds before it’s red beady eyes were latched on to me.

It’s steps were slow, but large, and it wasn’t long until I was backed up against a tree, not sure where I could go or what way was supposed to be out. 

“Shit,” I whispered to myself as I’d completely run out of ideas. 

It was just as the word left my mouth that I heard shouting nearby. They seemed like they were distant, but I could hear them at least. 

“I think I see something over there!” I heard a familiar voice shout out. It was feminine, and there was only one female hunter that I knew. It had to be Iris. 

I was just opening my mouth, ready to shout at the top of my lungs when a gunshot tore through the air towards the giant in front of me. It made me jump just slightly as I looked to the source of the sound and I could see Prompto and a woman that I only recognised from photographs emerge from it’s side just a little way away from me. 

I could see that his eyes were darting around slightly, as if he was looking for me. 

Then, it was like something triggered inside him. I’d never seen him fight before it occurred to me. And I couldn’t take my eyes off of him as he moved in a way that seemed unlike what I expected. It almost looked as if he was throwing his bullets out of his gun as he jumped around, spinning and cartwheeling in a manner that seemed as if it was entirely for show.

He threw four bullets in that way, and I wanted to kick myself for never realising how awesome he really was. After the fourth bullet, he turned to look in my direction, his face lighting up slightly when he saw me looking back at him. 

“She’s there!” he shouted towards the woman that was with him.

“Alright, I’ve got this,” I heard her say as she ran towards Prompto’s, his hands cupped slightly as his gun disappeared. She expertly managed to get her foot in his hands as she bolted towards him, and it was like he used every bit of his strength to toss her up in the air. 

She went up an awfully long way before she seemed to be doing aerobatics in the air, and her body was sent slamming down into the giant below her. Prompto hadn’t stuck around to watch her though, instead he was sprinting towards me. As he got closer, he slid down into the dirt on his right leg so that he was facing me, coming to a stop just beside me as if it was calculated. He quickly shoved a glass vial into my hand, and he wrapped his hands around my own, squeezing down until it shattered in my hands.

I felt a little better because of it, but as I tried to test it, I still couldn’t move my leg. 

He looked me up and down, trying to assess if there was anything else that he could do. He brushed the hair out of my face, like he was looking for something. I’d forgotten in all that had happened that my face was probably covered in blood from where I’d hit my head. 

“Are you okay?” he asked me as he was the wound on my leg that hadn’t at all healed from whatever he’d given me. 

“Nevermind that, where’s Gladio?” I asked quickly. 

“He’s around somewhere. Why? Where is she?” he asked as he looked around. 

It must have been because of the darkness that he didn’t see it. That or he had tunnel vision as he looked for me. 

“Stop him from coming here. I’m serious. Do not let him come here,” I said in the most serious tone I could manage. That was when the pain suddenly kicked in, and I jolted forward, clutching my knee. 

“I can’t leave you here,” he said as he tried to comfort me. 

“You have to. I’m serious, don’t let him come here. I’m fine, but he won’t be.”

I wasn’t fine at all, but if Gladio seeing Amarantha meant that Ardyn had any kind of victory over them, I needed to stop it somehow. And I think Prompto could see how serious I was. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll be back in a second,” he said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before he stood up and bolted off again.

I covered my face with my hand after he was gone, and let out another sigh. 

So I’d survived long enough to become his messenger, I thought. I wasn’t sure if I was happy or not. More than anything, now that I was give a moment to think about it, I felt guilty that I couldn’t do more for any of the people that were still hanging from the tree.

Honestly, the pain in my knee felt like nothing compared to the guilt that I felt when I saw their silhouettes dangling in the moonlight.

It was just a minute before I heard the metal creaking from where the woman was fighting with whatever the creature really was. She was dusting off her armor as if it hadn’t been that big of a deal for her, and she was slowly striding in my direction.

Whoever she was, she was kind of awesome. 

I’d almost been entranced by her for a few seconds before I heard something behind me.

“Get off me, Prompto. I’m fucking serious.”

It was Gladio’s voice, and it was getting closer with every word. I panicked. I desperately didn’t want him to see her. I wanted to protect him as much as I could so I could lie a little and say that she died peacefully. 

“She said not to go,” Prompto tried to reason.

“I need to see her,” Gladio growled as his legs strode past me. I reached out and grasped what I could of his trouser leg, and he stopped, albeit briefly to sneer at me angrily before continuing on his way.

“Gladio!” I shouted out after him, my voice weak. “Please just come back.”

He didn’t say a word as he looked around, shining the light that was on his jacket around until he saw the tree. As soon as the light was displaying the bodies in all their glory, Gladio froze. The woman froze. Prompto froze. Any hunter that wandered in froze just to look at the disgusting display. 

It was the first time I’d seen it in anything but the moonlight and the way that the light hit the angles of their faces made it look more contorted and horrifying than it had before. 

There was a long minute of silence that flowed into another minute and into another. 

Prompto crouched down to me, his face pale, his breath unsteady.

“Who did this?” he asked quietly. Yet it was still loud enough to grab the attention of everyone around us, including Gladio who was the furthest away. I could feel his eyes digging into me as his head slowly turned to look at me. They looked as if they were just devoid of any emotion whatsoever. 

“I won’t tell you,” I whispered, pressing my back further against the tree behind me. 

Gladio slowly approached us, and the way he was looking at me terrified me. He fell to his knees at the bottom of my feet, and looked at me with his wide, unblinking eyes. 

“Tell us.”

I shook my head.

“Tell  _ me  _ then.”

“I won’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I won’t.”

I couldn’t even tell them the reason why I wouldn’t tell them because they would have known. But this was my secret, and my burden to carry. 

Gladio didn’t like that very much. 

He crawled towards me, and then suddenly his hand reached out to grab at my wounded knee. And he squeezed it as hard as he could, sending a yelp out of my throat. Prompto was quick to scramble and try and push him away, but he had very little luck until Ignis suddenly appeared at his side and began to help him. 

Eventually, and much to my relief, Gladio was sent backwards, not even making a move to catch himself as he fell. 

“Do not take this out on her, and don’t you dare hurt her,” Ignis said, his voice loud and commanding. 

Then, out of nowhere, Gladio started laughing, almost like he’d completely lost it. He sat up, and his eyes landed back on me as he glared at me. 

“Tell me what happened to her,” he demanded. 

“You don’t want to know,” I told him quietly. 

“Don’t tell me what I do and don’t want to know,” he shouted. I felt a little safer with both Prompto and Ignis shielding me slighty. 

“Gladio, please just leave it for now,” Prompto tried to reason, holding his hands out to show that he didn’t mean any harm. Gladio’s gaze shifted from me to him.

“Shut the fuck up, Prompto. You don’t get to tell me to leave it. You didn’t just lose your girlfriend. Yours, for some fucking reason, is still here. She’s still alive even though she was the one who got herself into this mess in the first fucking place. So no, I will not leave it. I want to know  _ exactly  _ what happened. And I want to know why  _ she’s  _ still alive and why it was  _ my  _ girlfriend that had to die.”

I’d forgotten how much of an asshole Gladio could be. And I could have been just as much of an asshole. I could have really hurt him. I could have told him that Amarantha thought that Gladio was the one that killed her. That would have really hurt him, like his words were hurting me.  They just made me feel even more guilty than I did before. And they made me consider one important question.

Why  _ was  _ I the only one alive?

I didn’t get the chance to make any response, or retort. 

Instead, the woman from earlier picked him up by the collar of his shirt and quickly brought her knee right into his stomach, causing the air to escape out of his mouth as he doubled over. 

“Leave her alone,” she said in a low, biting voice that somehow felt commanding. 

“For now,” Gladio finally agreed as he walked off towards the tree, rubbing his stomach slightly.

A lot of the hunters began to gather around the tree to look at it. I wasn’t sure if they were paying respect to the bodies that were hanging there, or if they were grieving. The woman was the last to make her way over there, though she did it with a sigh. 

“You should get her to a doctor,” she finally said before she sauntered off, leaving just me and Prompto behind. 

I could tell that Prompto was in a bit of a state of shock as well. But slowly he nodded, even though she’d already gone by that point. 

“Can you walk?” he asked me.

“I don’t know, I don’t think so,” I answered in a murmur. 

“Let’s see if you can stand up first,” he said, trying to smile at me, but I think he’d realised how close of a call that was. So slowly, he helped me stand up. And it hurt. My leg wouldn’t do what I wanted it to. It wouldn’t support any of my weight without buckling, but Prompto was there to catch me, at least. 

It took a good minute of struggling, but eventually I was leaning against the tree behind me. I was balanced on one leg, clutching onto Prompto’s shoulders. He gave me a small smile as he looked at me. It wasn’t entirely like his normal smile. 

“See, I told you that I’d find you.”

“You always do, somehow,” I said, giving him a small chuckle, though it sounded empty. 

He leant down just slightly to press his lips to mine for a few seconds. His lips felt a little more rough than I remembered, but it felt comforting to have him in front of me again. I thought that I wouldn’t get to see him again. I was sure I wouldn’t.

He backed away from me, still smiling just a little bit. But as he got further away from me, I saw it. A large, ghostly looking figure that was dressed in something similiar to a kimono, a large katana slung over it’s shoulder. My eyes moved up to look at it’s face where it was looking down at the pair of us through it’s small eyes. It didn’t have a mouth, which I thought was odd, because otherwise, it just looked like a rather tall humanoid. 

I felt like it happened in slow motion at first. 

It pulled it’s sword back, and I looked back to Prompto who was completely unaware of the creature behind him. I put my hand on his shoulder and began to push him to the side with every bit of strength that was left in my body, and I could see the look of confusion on his face as I shoved him away. 

“Look out!” I heard the woman from earlier scream out towards us, and that was the trigger that sped everything up.

Prompto fell to the side without a millisecond to spare before the sword was plunged directly into my stomach. The blade felt like molten steel as it pierced through me and had wedged itself into the tree behind me. 

I didn’t know what I could do to make any of this better, so I grabbed the blade in my hand and tried to pull it out. All that served to do was make these straight and deep cuts in the folds of my fingers. I couldn’t do anything.

I looked to Prompto who was looking at me in shock, his wide eyes already welling with tears that glistened ever so slightly in the moonlight. 

This was my chance to tell him thank you, I thought. He might not have understood exactly what it was that I was thankful for, but as long as he knew it. 

I tried to talk with the one breath that I’d inhaled and held in for those few seconds, but it just came out as a slow, unintelligible groan as blood began to pour out of my mouth. 

He was shaking his head slightly, like he didn’t believe any of what was happening. 

It was the woman who eventually stepped in, her spear clashing with the hilt of it’s sword like she was trying to get it’s attention. It moved the sword slightly, making the wound just a little bit wider, but I realised that it didn’t really matter.

I couldn’t breathe and I felt like I was drowning in my own blood. 

But she tried, at least. The creature turned its attention to her, and knowing that it had done its job with me, it yanked the sword out almost effortlessly. 

I’d lost the energy and the strength to stay stood, so I just fell to the floor, Prompto finally snapping back into reality to react and catch me just in time to soften the blow.

All of my weight was pulling down on him, so the best he could do was fall down himself and catch my head in his lap.

I could very faintly hear him repeating the word ‘no’ under his breath as he reached down to press his hands to my stomach to try and quell the bleeding somewhat. I had no idea if it was working. 

When my vision started to darken, I didn’t feel as scared as I thought I would. I thought that at least the secrets of the tree would be going with me to wherever it was I was going, and Gladio wouldn’t ever have to hear about what happened to Amarantha. I thought that at least I’d kept Prompto safe for that moment. 

Otherwise, I just felt sad that I was leaving Prompto behind. I’d wanted us to start our life together again, but there were some things that just weren’t meant to be, I supposed.

That was how I died. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is pretty shitty to say after the end of this chapter, but I have no idea when I can post again as I'm going to be away from home for a while. I'll be wishing for decent internet. 
> 
> I did want to say, thank you for the response to the last chapter. The comments made me feel as if I'd accomplished something with regards to Amarantha. And I genuinely didn't know for quite a while, there. But thank you. I promise to name my next D&D character after her, and I'll do my best to keep her alive in whatever campaign that is.


	40. Chapter 40

I felt like I was going to be sick when I saw the last of her life escape from her.

“Rena?” I said, trying to get some kind of response, but my voice was so small and quiet compared to the brawl that was breaking out around the rogue Ronin that had been the one to kill her. 

I didn’t have the energy to get my revenge on it. Instead, I just looked down at her, blood still dripping out of her mouth onto my trousers. 

“Rena, please wake up,” I said, just a little bit louder this time.

The colour seemed to be draining out of her face, like it was the last of her life. As I noticed that, my chest felt tight, like I couldn’t breath. My vision blurred as the tears continued to build up in my eyes. 

That was when I felt her moving slightly. I wiped at my face quickly to see that Aranea had managed to disengage from the fight and was hastily shoving a beautiful orange and red feather into Rena’s hand, and forcing her fingers to close around it.

It seemed to burn in her hand, and quickly turned to ash. 

My eyes were back on her face as I watched her with my breath held. After what felt like an eternity, she coughed slightly, trying to take in what air she could through the blood that was still in her mouth. Quickly, I rolled her head to the side and tried to get her mouth open as wide as I could while Aranea found another potion and forced it into Rena’s hand. 

Quickly Ignis was by my side, trying to assess the situation as best he could. 

“Is she breathing?” he asked. 

“She’s trying to,” I answered, not sure what else I could do as she gasped for air. She still wasn’t awake. Everything that was happening was just her body fighting for survival instinctively.

“We have to get her back to Lestallum,” Aranea said sternly as the potion shattered in her grasp. She was the only one who was properly able to understand what was happening. “I think she needs a bit more help that we can give her here.”

“I agree,” Ignis chimed in. “Can you drive, Aranea?”

She nodded firmly as she stood up and headed towards where we’d left all of the cars and trucks. 

“Okay. She’s going to be okay,” I told myself as I scooped up her weak and still very damaged body and lifted her up in my arms. I wasn’t able to run, but my pace was quicker than usual as we made our way back to the car. 

“Wait,” I heard a familiar voice behind us. I turned to see Gladio chasing us down, still not looking as if he was quite himself. He shoved two more of the feathers in my direction. Aranea quickly turned to pluck them out of his hands not saying a word to him before she was walking towards the car once again. “Don’t let her die, alright?”

I nodded to him before I turned again, back towards the car. 

Internally, I was throwing every obscenity at him that I could think of for how he was acting just a few minutes ago, but at that moment, she was my priority. Arguing with Gladio about how much of an asshole he was sometimes wasn’t going to save her life. 

It felt like an arduous journey to the car as she felt so heavy in my arms. She was still breathing, at least, though it was laboured, like it was taking everything she had. Ignis clambered into the front seat of my car, Aranea took the driver's seat, and I somehow managed to maneuver myself into the backseat with Rena cradled in my arms. 

There was still blood oozing out of her mouth and stomach, and my hands were stained red from where I’d tried to stop it. It just seemed to move around my fingers and find someway to escape. The potions that Aranea had given her at at least seemed to help her somewhat, but I was still terrified that it wasn’t enough.

Before she started the engine, Aranea dug around in her armor, pulling out a three of the feathers in total as well as a handful of potions. She handed them to Ignis before she started the ignition, turning to look back at me and Rena.

“You guys are gonna owe me once she’s okay. This stuff isn’t cheap,” she told me, trying to reassure me in her own way. 

The way that she drove felt too fast, and kind of unsafe, but she was just trying to get us back to Lestallum as quickly as possible. I knew that it would take the better part of an hour for us to get there, maybe less than I anticipated as Aranea zipped down the roads at more of a pace than I expected.

I watched Rena carefully to see if she was still breathing, and after ten minutes of our journey, her eyes slowly began to flutter open. She couldn’t even find the strength to keep her head upright, and her eyes were barely open as they tried to focus on me.

“Hey,” I whispered towards her, trying to give her something to focus on. 

Slowly, she moved her hand, using whatever strength she could find to gently place it on the side of my face. I placed my hand over hers as I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles. She was freezing.

She started moving her mouth slightly, not much more than a whisper falling out of her lips. But I heard what she was trying to say at the very least. 

“Thank… you…”

I shook my head, trying to tell her that she didn’t have anything to thank me for, but I don’t think she saw it before her head rolled back again into my arm and her hand fell limp in my own again. 

“Ignis,” I said as loudly as I could. Quickly, he was turning around to me, not asking any questions. Instead, he reached out, trying to find her hand. I gave him the hand that just seconds ago had been pressed against my face and he thrust one of the feathers into her hand, closing her stiff fingers around it.

It happened again as it did before. The feather was engulfed in embers as it disappeared to ash, bringing her back to life once more. It gave me a moment, however brief, of relief.

“How many do we have left?” I asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to fill the air with some kind of conversation.

“Two phoenix downs. We have some potions too, though they’re not going to help her that much,” Ignis answered. Despite that, he placed one into her hand, squeezing it shut again until the glass shattered. “But I suppose every little helps right now.”

“She’s going to be okay,” Aranea chimed in, her voice as stern as it always had been. 

“Why do you care so much?” I asked her as nicely as I could. I wasn’t trying to accuse her of anything, I was just curious. And I think she knew. 

“Well, I suppose I don’t care about her in particular. I just don’t want to see anyone else die,” she told me with a sigh. “There’s just too much of that nowadays, don’t you think?”

“Indeed,” Ignis agreed. “I think you’d get on well with Rena, now that I think about it.”

“Why’s that?” she asked. 

“You can both be a bit stubborn and perhaps a bit too headstrong sometimes,” Ignis explained.

“I’m going to pretend that’s a compliment,” Aranea said, raising an eyebrow towards him. 

“Oh, it absolutely was.”

It took less time than I expected to get back to Lestallum, and in her haste to get Rena help as quickly as possible, she practically mounted the car on the pavement before she turned the engine off.

By the time we’d gotten there, we’d used up most of the potions we had on hand, and we only had one phoenix down left. But she was somehow still fighting to survive, and she’d made it home. That had to be the worst part of it over with, I thought. 

Ignis and Aranea both scrambled to get out of the car as quickly as possible, dashing to find help so that I wouldn’t have to run around the streets of Lestallum with Rena’s very pale, battered and bloodied body. I really had no idea where we’d be running to, either.

So I stayed in the car with her, holding her and willing her just to hang on for a little bit longer. 

It was only when I was by myself with her that I felt like a little part of me broke. It was like this moment where I could physically feel it, and I just started sobbing in the back of the car as I cradled her weak body in my arms. I wiped at my eyes, trying my best to clear my vision so that I could watch her carefully. 

“You’re not allowed to die,” I told her, knowing that she couldn’t really hear me. “You’re not allowed to die because I never got to keep my promise to you. I need to take you to Galdin Quay so that you can decide if you hate the beach or not. And there’s so much else that I want us to do together. I want us to go and see the chocobos together again. I want us to live together and play King’s Knight until we beat it. I want us to eat hot pot again.”

Then, as I was telling her all of this, I figured I might as well get it all off of my chest. 

“I want to marry you. I want to have a family with you. I want to have a home with you that we can stay in for the rest of our lives. I want to make a tonne of those scrapbooks together when we have kids of our own, and I want to teach them photography like I taught you when we were in school. But I haven’t even asked you to be my girlfriend again yet, so you can’t die. You’re not allowed to.”

I had to close my eyes for a moment, just to try and compose myself for when Ignis and Aranea came back so that I could get her to a doctor as soon as possible. I sniffed, and my nose sounded blocked. 

“I’ll… try,” I heard and my eyes shot open. She was looking at me, though she was exhausted. I could tell that this had been taxing on her, and that it would have been so much easier for her if she could have just given up. But she was trying to smile at me, her teeth still stained red. 

“That’s all I want you to do. I’ll take care of everything else, okay?” I half asked for her, just wanting to get some response from her.

“Okay…” she breathed, rolling her head to rest it on my shoulder. “I’m… really tired.”

“I know you are. You just have to try and stay awake for a little bit longer,” I sniffed, trying to reassure her. 

“Will you… wake me up again… if I can’t?”

“I’ll do everything I can to wake you up, yeah,” I said, forcing a smile on my face. 

“Okay…” she said again, this time, wincing slightly as if the pain that must have been coursing through her suddenly struck in. “I’ll try… to stay awake…”

And she just kept fighting as we waited. She didn’t seem as if she was going to go down without a fight, but I felt like my heart was breaking as I watched her struggle to stay awake, her face scrunching up every so often as a jolt of pain seemed to strike her.

Then suddenly, the car door beside me was being pulled open, and Aranea was beckoning me to get out. 

“We’ve found a doctor, so let’s go,” she said, opening the door as wide as she could. 

I collected up Rena in my arms again and carefully got her out of the car, not wanting to cause her anymore pain. As soon as I was out, the car door slammed behind me and Aranea was running ahead of me. I followed behind her as quickly as I could, trying my best not to disturb Rena’s injuries any more.

I could feel people watching us as we dashed through the streets. I could feel their eyes on me as they pointed to us and talked to their friends as they speculated on what had happened. I wanted to shield her from their eyes, which was enough to quicken my pace just that little bit more. 

We eventually came to a doctors surgery that was sandwiched between two other apartment buildings. Ignis was waiting outside impatiently, the front door was open, and the lights were illuminating the windows. 

As soon as we were inside, there was a man --  the doctor who had given her that shot all those years ago, strangely -- who was pointing towards a bed that he could wheel about if he needed. I placed her down carefully, and he was already looking her up and down, trying to assess the damage.

“Can you explain what happened?” he asked as he started popping the buttons on the bottom of her shirt open to get a good look at the wound on her stomach. 

“I think she hit her head,” I started, pointing to my own head as if to demonstrate. I felt dizzy now that she was laying on the bed because it was the first time I’d seen how… hurt she was. “She was shot in the knee,” I said pointing to her leg that wasn’t bleeding all that much because of the belt she’d secured around her thigh. “She got stabbed by a daemon.”

She looked so small as he assessed her. She was somehow managing to survive and she was somehow staying strong, but I just felt dizzy and broken.

“Do you know her blood type?” he asked, looking up at me. 

I could only shake my head, not taking my eyes off of her. I had no idea. 

“Okay, I’ll figure that part out, I suppose,” he said as he backed away from her, his hands already stained with the blood that was still wet around her stomach. She was bleeding a little less, at least. Maybe. “I’m going to take her away for a while, alright?” he said as gently as he could. “You should get cleaned up, and try and get some rest.”

“I want to stay with her,” I argued, stepping forward again, but he shook his head. 

“I need to make sure there’s no internal bleeding and I need to make sure that all of her organs are okay. You can’t be there for that.”

“What are you going to do after you’ve figured that out?” Ignis asked.

“After that, I need to close the wound, make sure that her head is alright and then I need to figure out what to do with the knee. I’ll be calling in a few nurses to help me out, so you don’t need to worry when you see them,” he explained as he began to roll her away. I took a few steps after them, but Aranea quickly caught me by the shoulder and pulled me back. 

“C’mon, Prompto,” she said as she pulled on my shoulder. “You need to get cleaned up.”

It didn’t feel real when I looked at my hands that were stained still. 

“If I go with him, will you wait here?” Ignis asked her, and she nodded, though she sighed begrudgingly. “I’ll give you my number so you can call if anything happens.”

The two exchanged details, as my eyes were still on my hands. 

“And you, Prompto,” Aranea said loudly, like she was edging on shouting but she also wanted to keep quiet, knowing where she was. I looked up at her, trying my best to keep a stern look on my face that didn’t crack under the sadness and desperation I felt. “She’s gonna be fine, so get yourself together. She’s gonna need you at your best when she’s back.”

Her arms were folded across her chest as she raised an eyebrow at me. 

“Yeah. Yeah you’re right,” I said as I turned around, unblinking, and walked out of the door, trying to figure out where I was. Lestallum, somewhere. 

I was glad that Ignis began to walk in a direction so that I could follow him. Neither of us said a word until we were outside of Rena’s apartment. 

“I assume you have a key,” he said. At that moment, I realised that I wasn’t the only one who was worried about her. His voice was smaller than I’d ever heard it. Ignis was usually so good at hiding his emotions, so I’d forgotten that he and Rena were at least somewhat close. 

“Yeah,” I mumbled, digging the key out of my back pocket again and unlocking the door. 

The apartment was just the same as the last time I’d seen it. She wasn’t there, so the apartment felt empty and lifeless. I couldn’t help but think of the times we’d eaten hot pot on the floor before she’d really had any furniture. Even then the place felt as if it was fuller, I thought. 

We slowly walked inside, flicking the lights on as we went and just the sight of the place set off this new worry within me. I didn’t want to go back to Hammerhead. I wanted to stay here, but it wasn’t going to be the same without her. 

“Take a shower,” Ignis finally said as he made his way into the kitchen, feeling around the countertop as if he was looking for something to busy himself with.

So I did. I grabbed one of the spare sets of clothes I had in my backpack. I locked myself in the bathroom and peeled away the layers of my uniform, taking off my wristbands and my gloves and throwing them in the pile on the floor. 

I stepped into the hot water, and scrubbed at my hands as hard as I could until her blood had drifted away down the drain. Even after my hands were clean, they didn’t feel it. So I kept scrubbing away at the skin on my hands until my skin was red and sore.

At least that was something else to feel other than the unending feeling of terror at what could have happened; what could still happen. 

I emerged from the bathroom afterwards, dressed in a new set of clothes and my hair still wet. I looked to the kitchen where Ignis was washing dishes, trying to find something he could do to make himself useful. He stopped as he heard me leave the bathroom, and he looked in my direction. 

“Do you want to go back?” he asked. 

I thought about it for a minute. 

“I just want to get some things for her,” I said as I walked over to her dresser and pulled one of the drawers open. It was completely empty. I wondered why. So I tried another drawer, this one was full of her clothes. 

I wasn’t sure what I should have taken for her. I found a set of pyjamas, and a few sets of underwear that I put in a paper bag. I found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that would have probably sufficed for getting her home. 

Whenever that was. 

It somehow didn’t feel like enough, so I looked around the room just looking for anything that I could have taken to her that might have been a bit of a comfort. Eventually my eyes landed on the chocobo plush that I’d bought for her when I left Lestallum. It was sat on the bookshelf, it’s head slumped to one side. 

I decided on taking that with me so that she had some part of home with her. I plucked it up, and stopped as I saw that behind it, the scrapbook we’d worked on together was tucked in between the wooden wall of the shelf and the photography book that she’d kept since we were kids. 

I slid it out of the shelf, turning through the pages briefly that almost creaked under the weight of all of the photographs and small paper trinkets that decorated the pages. I decided to take that with me too. I quickly put them in the paper bag and gathered it up in my arms before turning to Ignis.

“I want to go back,” I told him.

“Very well. Let’s go. Though I’m sure she’s fine. Otherwise Aranea would have told us.”

“Yeah, but I still want to get back as soon as I possible,” I said as I walked towards the door and collected my keys. 

We ended up sat in the waiting room without word for a long, long time. After a couple of hours, Aranea had excused herself, saying that she’d check in again if she had the time, and Ignis was asleep in the chair next to me, snoring just a little bit.

I felt exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep without knowing what was going on. That just left me with the paper bag of her things that I’d had clutched to my chest because it was all I had to hold on to at that moment. 

An hour passed. Another hour passed. Followed by another. And another. 

By now I could hear people talking outside as they went about their day to day lives. We’d gone through the whole night and I hadn’t heard a thing. 

I was almost scared to look at it, but I wanted to see her face again. So I pulled the scrapbook out of the bag and began to look through the pages once again. All of the photos at the beginning looked so carefree, and she wore this genuine smile on her face when she stood beside me. 

I wondered if it would have been better for her if I’d never run into her in Hammerhead. If we’d just forgotten about each other, she never would have had to know about just how evil and cruel the world could really be. 

When I saw the bodies hanging from the tree, I knew exactly who had done it. I knew that it was Ardyn, trying to torture us. I knew it all too well. And I knew that all of this had happened to both Rena and Amarantha because of who they knew. 

Maybe they both would have stayed safe if it weren’t for us. 

I was snapped out of my thoughts as the front door opened, and a large, muscular figure looked directly at me. 

“What do you want?” I snapped at him.

I was still angry at him about what he’d said to Rena when we were in the Vesperpool. I knew that his words had instilled some kind of strong guilt in her, and he was completely unfair. I suppose that was something about Gladio. His emotions could be way too strong sometimes. 

“Is she alright?” he asked quietly. 

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, feeling the bottom of my lip begin to tremble just a bit. I could see his shoulders sink in disappointment as he stood in the doorway, and I wasn’t really that sure of what it was that I was supposed to say to him. 

“You mind if I wait with you?” he asked, and I looked up at him. He looked… remorseful, I think. “I need to apologise.”

I shook my head, and he slowly sat himself down in the empty seat next to Ignis. He looked about as tired as I felt.

“I’m sorry for what happened,” I mumbled, not sure what else it was I was supposed to say. 

“Yeah. Me too,” he said as he looked down at his fingernails and began picking at them. He sniffed just once before letting out a long breath. “What a shitty year this has been.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, turning my attention to the scrapbook that was still in my lap. I let out a small sigh of my own as I closed it, and tucked it back away in the bag that was still leaning against my chest. 

“Excuse me?” another voice finally said. I looked up through my tired eyes to see a nurse looking down at me. “You were with the girl, weren’t you?” I nodded at her eagerly. “Do you want to come and see her?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had ten minutes spare to post a chapter before I had to head out. So I'm enjoying reading your comments, but don't quite have enough time to respond to them right now. But I have internet, so hopefully I can post again while I'm on holiday! Thanks for the comments and kudos lately~


	41. Chapter 41

For a long time I felt like I was underwater. It was like I could hear the rumble of my blood flowing through me, and I could hear my breathing above everything else. I was just floating there for a long time.

Every so often, I would see a small bead in front of me. It shone as I remembered the sun shining, but it was not much bigger than my little fingernail. It made me curious. I felt cold, so I wondered if it was warm. 

So I’d reach out for it, every so often as it shone at it’s brightest. I wanted to pick it up between my fingers. I just wanted to look at it a little closer. But every time I did, it felt like someone who I couldn’t see was pulling me back, and they were silently telling me that it was dangerous. 

It happened three times -- each time the same as before, with it piquing my curiosity --  before the bead dimmed down again, and it lost my attention. 

Then somewhere, I heard Prompto’s voice. It was quiet, but I could tell that he was crying, and scared.

_ I want to marry you. I want to have a family with you. I want to have a home with you that we can stay in for the rest of our lives. I want to make a tonne of those scrapbooks together when we have kids of our own, and I want to teach them photography like I taught you when we were in school. But I haven’t even asked you to be my girlfriend again yet, so you can’t die. You’re not allowed to. _

Ah, so that was it. I was dying, but not quite there yet. 

I felt sad at the idea of leaving him on his own. I wasn’t sad because I was dying, but I didn’t want to leave him. So I had to try and fight the urge to give up, for him. 

But then I was still lying as if I was underwater. And I stayed their for a long time. 

My eyes opened slowly, and the room around me was dark, save for the glow that was radiating from the television in the corner of the room. It was quietly showing a programme that I’d seen before, though I wasn’t quite sure how many times by now. I scanned the room slowly trying to place where I was, but I had no idea.

I felt hungry, and I felt thirsty, but otherwise, I felt… okay, if not a little sore. 

I moved my head slightly to look around the room. In one corner, Ignis was fast asleep, his arms folded across his chest and his head hanging forward slightly. Next to him was Gladio, who had taken a similar pose, though his head was back, leaning against the wall.

Then I looked next to me, and hunched over the bed, using his folded arms as a pillow was Prompto, who was sleeping almost peacefully as he nuzzled into the crook of his elbow. Even though he was asleep, he still looked exhausted. 

I smiled slightly at the sight of him, and I slowly and carefully moved my hand to wind my fingers through his soft blonde hair. He didn’t seem to stir immediately. He just hummed slightly to himself. I could see his eyelids flutter for a moment before he bolted upright as he looked at me bleary-eyed. 

He spent a few seconds trying to clear his vision before he gave me one of his brilliant, dazzling smiles. 

“You’re awake,” he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the other two who were still unaware of what was happening.

“I am,” was about all I managed to croak out through my horribly broken voice. 

“How do you feel?” he said as he stood up slightly so that he could reach over and brush a few hairs out of my face, his finger brushing a sore spot on my head that made me wince just slightly. 

“Hungry.”

He chuckled slightly. 

“Other than hungry?”

“Thirsty.”

“So you don’t hurt anywhere or anything?” he asked as he sat back down in his chair beside me, and he threaded his fingers through mine.

“My stomach hurts because I’m hungry,” I told him, and he smiled again. It was then that a lot of the memories of what had happened caught up with me. “Is Amarantha okay?” I asked, and he moved back from me slightly, frowning.

“What do you mean, sweetheart?” he asked as his grip on my hand tightened.

“I was with her, wasn’t I? She fell asleep on my shoulder,” I explained to him, tapping the shoulder that she’d been asleep on not too long ago. 

He looked utterly confused. His mouth opened, but then closed again as he looked as if he was going to say something, and then thought better of it. 

“What do you remember?” 

I frowned as I tried to focus on something. It was hazy, but I was sure that was the last thing that happened. 

“She fell asleep on my shoulder, and I was talking to you on the phone. Then they told me to get out and I hit my head. Then I heard you talking to me. And now I’m here.”

His face contorted to have a look of concern that was aimed directly towards me.

“Oh, uhm. Okay. Right. I’m going to get the doctor. Just wait here for a minute, okay?” he asked as he placed a firm kiss on my forehead and was straight out of the door. 

I felt really confused, like there was something that I’d forgotten to remember. It felt like it was important. But I was so thirsty. I could see that just next to the TV there was a jug of water just sat there. I could be quiet so that I didn’t wake Ignis or Gladio, I thought. So I pushed off the bed covers and tried to climb out of the bed as I always had. 

But one of my legs got caught on something and I fell, landing on the ground with a loud thud and a small groan of pain. Ignis had bolted upright and was looking around the room as if he’d been put on high alert, and Gladio groaned slightly as I pulled them out of their sleep. 

I tried to push myself up, but one of my legs just wouldn’t move. I looked at it in confusion as I tried again, but it wasn’t doing anything. I tried to use the bed to pull myself up desperately but it caused this wave of pain through my stomach which forced me to double over and clutch it slightly.

“Rena?” Ignis questioned, while next to him, Gladio was yawning and gathering his bearings. 

“My leg won’t work,” I said to him, my voice just a whimper as I started to panic. I sounded pathetic, and I felt it too. I tried to move any part of it, and nothing was happening. So I punched my leg. And I felt nothing.

“Woah, calm down,” Gladio said as he quickly scrambled out of his chair and came to kneel next to me. “C’mon, I’ll help you up.”

“What’s going on?” I asked him, looking up to him, genuinely fearful. Both him and Ignis frowned at me the same way that Prompto had, and I felt like there was something I didn’t know.

After a second or two, Prompto was back in through the door, panting as if he’d been sprinting, looking at me on the floor. He immediately rushed over to me, and Gladio quickly got out of his way. 

“Are you okay? Did you fall over?” he asked as he gave me a look over to check that I wasn’t injured.

“My leg won’t work,” I told him, and I could feel tears dripping down my cheeks. “And my stomach hurts.”

“It’s alright,” he said trying to reassure me, letting his fingertips stroke my hair a little. 

“It doesn’t feel alright,” I sniffled. “Is Amarantha okay? You didn’t answer me before.”

I saw Gladio flinch at my question and freeze, so I turned to him, desperately as I felt so confused and upset. 

“She was next to me,” I said, almost pleading. “She was right next to me.”

Gladio didn’t say anything. Not straight away. Instead, Prompto somehow managed to pick me up off of the floor and effortlessly tuck me back into the bed. He stepped back as Gladio stepped forward to slide into the chair next to the bed. The mood in the room was dire at best, and I was terrified for what was about to be said. 

“You remember that you were taken by some bad people, don’t you?” Gladio asked slowly as he rested his elbows on his knee, and folded his hands in front of him. I noticed out of the corner of my eye, someone I didn’t recognise was standing in the doorway, watching us carefully. 

“I remember that, yeah,” I said nodding. I was still sniffling, almost like I was a child.

“Did you know who any of them were?” he asked, and I frowned as I thought. 

“One of them seemed familiar. I don’t know why though,” I said as I rubbed my forehead. “Where is she though? No one wants to answer me.”

“Rena…” Gladio started with a sigh. “You know that Amarantha died, don’t you?”

I looked down at my hands that had these long cuts across them and frowned. I knew that. I remembered that suddenly as he spoke. Of course I knew that. I saw her. I could remember seeing her, but I didn’t remember any of the details at all as if everything had been covered in this thick, dense fog. 

I felt like I wanted to be sick, but instead I just drove the palms of my hands into my eyes and hid, trying my best to breathe properly. 

“I’m so sorry,” I said in a small whimper. “I was supposed to look after her and I couldn’t.”

“Hey,” Gladio said in a tone that was soft, and entirely unlike him. He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. “You did everything you could. So don’t be sorry.”

And for some reason, I felt as if the weight of my grief just crushed every inch of my being. I felt guilt rush over me, and it was like I could feel my heart shatter in my chest as I thought of my best friend. So I just cried. I cried and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. I don’t know how long it was that I cried for, but they were all as patient as they could possibly could be, offering me tissues or rubbing reassuring circles on my back, or Prompto stroking my hair or peppering these small kisses on the side of my face. 

They let me cry until it felt as if I’d cried out every bit of moisture that was left in my body. There was nothing else in me that I could give, and I was so, so thirsty. So I wiped at my face, though I still must have looked pretty awful, and as I looked up, I was met with the gaze of a man who I didn’t know, who had been lingering in the doorway for a while. 

He noticed that I was looking right at him through my puffy eyes that were sore from crying. So he stepped forward slighty, smiling as if to offer me reassurance. 

“I’m the doctor that’s been looking after you,” he said, his voice soft and careful as if he didn’t want to frighten me or upset me. “Can you tell me what your name is?”

“Rena,” I sniffed, looking down at my hands again trying to remember how I’d gotten such deep cuts across my fingers. He moved closer and closer until he was perched in the seat beside my bed. 

“Which one of these guys looks after you the most?”

I looked at the three of them. Honestly, however much it pained me to say, Prompto was at the bottom of the list. Ignis and Gladio didn’t look after me per se, but they were around a lot more than Prompto had been. But similarly, I didn’t have plans to let either Ignis or Gladio move into my apartment. Prompto was the only one that had to shoulder that burden, I thought as I tried to move my toes on my left leg, to no avail. 

Eventually, I ended up shrugging, not really sure of how I should have answered the question. 

“Okay, well, if you had to pick one of them to look after you for a little while, who would it be?”

That was an easier question, for certain. I looked for Prompto who was stood attentively on the opposite side of the bed, his fingers kneading the mattress slightly as if he was trying to relieve some of his anxiety.

“Prompto?” I half answered, worried that maybe when he’d wanted to come back to Lestallum, he didn’t want to be saddled with more responsibility and troubles. But as I looked at him, he gave me the slightest of smiles, and nodded.

I wondered why.

“Then, can I talk to you two for a moment on your own?” he asked, looking to Gladio and Ignis who were already walking towards the door to give us some privacy. As they left, Prompto’s hand found my own and gave it a tight squeeze. I could feel that his hands were shaking slightly, but he seemed to be doing his best to not let his nervousness and perhaps even his fear show.

The doctor gave out a loud sigh as he prepared himself for whatever it was that he was about to say. 

“Well. There’s a lot to talk about. When Prompto brought you here, you were very, very hurt. Do you remember anything how you got hurt?”

I thought for a second, but I shook my head.

“Okay. That’s alright. It’s quite understandable.”

“What does it mean?” Prompto asked quietly, and I could tell in that moment that he was concerned about me, more so than I had seen him before. 

“It’s quite a normal cognitive response to have when a person experiences trauma. It’s just a bit of memory loss. I could explain it like a part of her brain is hiding those memories away as a defense mechanism.”

“So it’s not to do with her head when it was cut?” Prompto asked, to which the doctor shook his head, and Prompto let out a large sigh of relief.

“It’s entirely possible that she’ll remember a little more as time goes on, but for the time being, I am a little bit concerned about her mental well being. If you have any nightmares, or if you ever feel badly because of what happened, I’d like it if you could tell Prompto here. And I’d like it if you could bring her in should that happen."

I nodded to him, but couldn't help but laugh just a little bit as I found something amusing. It was half hearted and weak, but it was something other than the hurt that I felt. 

“I don’t think I’d have to tell him. He knows me pretty well,” I said, chuckling slightly as I wiped at my blocked nose. 

The doctor smiled at the pair of us before tilting his head upwards and he spent just a few seconds looking somewhat nostalgic.

“Ah, to be young and in love,” he said in somewhat of a jovial fashion, bringing a small chuckle from Prompto.

“I don’t know about the young part. I feel like the last week has probably knocked a good few years off of my life expectancy,” he said with a laugh. I knew that he was definitely a lot less worried than he was before. 

“Can I ask about my leg now?” I said as I interjected their banter. 

The doctor went on to explain to me what had happened very basically. He told me that I’d been stabbed quite badly, although I couldn’t remember any of it, and he told me that I’d had a very forceful impact to my knee. He seemed rather upbeat about the whole situation, telling me that it was possible that it could get better after years of physical therapy. He just wasn’t _certain_ because the equipment in Lestallum was lacklustre at best.

Honestly, the room I was in looked like a spare bedroom in someone's house that had just been decorated in beige and white. So I was more surprised that he'd managed to save my life with what little he actually had. 

I wasn’t exactly sure if I felt lucky or not. At that particular moment, I’d never felt worse. I felt like I’d lost a part of myself. I was thankful that Prompto, Ignis and Gladio were alongside me, but it started to dawn on me that I was going to be a drain and a burden on them. 

Not being able to walk wasn’t exactly something that I knew how to deal with, if I really thought about it. It meant that I couldn’t do basic things like cooking, and I couldn’t do the things I needed to do in order to survive, like work my job. The more that I thought about it, the more useless I felt. 

As soon as the doctor excused himself, saying he’d be back to check on me later, Prompto sat himself down in the chair and gave me a small smile, his hand finding my own. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said as he sighed, placing the back of my hand against his forehead. He looked completely exhausted, like he’d barely slept for months. 

“I don’t know what your definition of okay is,” I said as I looked down at my unmoving limb, trying again to just make it do anything. 

“You’re alive. The rest we can figure out, right?” he said, pressing a kiss to the back to my hand before he smiled slightly.

“I guess,” I said as I leant back into the pillows and sighed. 

“I’m here to help you, you know?” he asked, tilting his head, and giving me a concerned look. 

“I know. Though, it’s fine if you want to like, not be here,” I told him, my words catching in my throat slightly. 

“What do you mean?” he asked, squeezing my hand a little tighter. I couldn’t answer him, but really, I didn’t need to. He knew exactly what I was worried about. After a few seconds of silence, he leant forward slightly. “You know, you really scared me. I’ve come across a lot of scary shit in my life. I mean, I fight daemons for a living. And when I thought I was going to lose you, that was the most scared I’ve ever been. So I’m not going anywhere. You can tell me everything about how you think I can do better, or that I deserve more, but I’m not going to believe a word of it. And I’m super dependable now. So it’s fine.”

I wasn’t sure if I should have laughed at him, or started crying from how he seemed to ease my worries so quickly. But I felt relieved, at the very least.

“I’m sorry I got hurt,” I told him as I pulled his hand closer to me. I just wanted to hug him more than anything in the world. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you,” he said, standing up slightly to lean closer to me. 

“You still came to get me, didn’t you?” I asked, tilting my head, wondering if I’d assumed something that I shouldn’t have. 

“Yeah, I told you that I’d find you, and I did. Like I said I was going to come back to Lestallum. I did that too,” he whispered, getting closer and closer to me. “There’s another thing that I said I was going to do too. You mind humouring me for a second?”

Despite the situation, I could feel the familiar sensation of butterflies begin to swirl around my stomach. It was a feeling that only Prompto seemed to be able to bring out of me. I managed to nod, though I was very aware of how close he was. 

“I said that I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend again. You remember?” 

I nodded, squeezing his hand again instinctively. 

“I was hoping it’d be under better circumstances, to be honest,” he sighed. Despite the sadness that seemed to be in his voice, he smiled at me. “But do you think you want to be my girlfriend again?”

He seemed just the slightest bit nervous as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

“You don’t plan on breaking up with me again for a dumb reason, do you?” I asked, and he sniggered slightly.

“No. I’m kinda done with being a dumbass,” he answered. “And I got a small window into a life without you over the past year. I didn’t like it, to be honest.”

“I didn’t care too much for it either,” I responded, managing to smile at him just slightly. “So, you’re planning to stay here? In Lestallum?”

“As long as that’s where you are,” he said with the first beaming smile that he’d sent my way since I’d woken up. 

“I don’t think I can turn you down with an offer like that then,” I smiled, reaching up to caress his face slightly. He looked relieved as soon as I’d spoken, though he was quickly leaning down towards me so that he could press his lips against mine in a lingering, yet chaste kiss. It felt that in one way, he was trying to convey everything he felt for me, but at the same time, I could tell that he was at least a little bit excited.

He pulled back after a little while, sitting himself back on the chair, but moving it just a little bit closer.

“You should try and get a little more rest if you can,” he told me with a smile. “It’s still pretty early in the morning.”

“I can try,” I agreed, settling down into the pillows as I tried to get comfortable. It was kind of difficult to do, because it felt like my limp leg was always in the way no matter where I was. But, eventually, I did manage to get to sleep again. And Prompto was fighting to keep himself awake until that happened, just to make sure that I was alright. 

It was two days later that I left the doctors. Apparently, before I’d woken up I’d already been recovering for over a week, though I wouldn’t have known a thing about it. Prompto had been the most attentive he’d ever been, making sure that he was doing everything he could to make sure that I was comfortable and as happy as I could have been. 

Regardless, I still felt a little bit lonely, and I couldn’t get the thought of Amarantha out of my head. I just kept wondering if she’d known much when she died, or if she’d gone peacefully. 

I couldn’t stop thinking about how I might have been the only person who knew what had happened, but everything seemed as if it was hidden behind this thick blanket of fog. It was frustrating. 

By the time I was coming towards leaving, I still couldn’t move my leg on it’s own. I’d started shifting it around with my hands whenever it felt like it was in the way, but otherwise it was just… there. 

Much to his credit, Prompto had thought everything through that he could. It wasn’t often that he left my side, but the day before I was allowed to go home, he’d disappeared with Ignis for a couple of hours to leave me with the quiet company of Gladio as we silently watched the television in the corner of the room. 

When he came back, I found out that he’d been pulling his hair out, trying his best to pick me out some new clothes that would be easier for me to wear than my usual uncomfortable jeans. Eventually, he’d all but given up. But he did manage to pick out at least something that I could go home in. It was a simple enough maxi dress that was decorated with white and navy blue stripes. I actually quite liked it, and I was thankful that he’d gone to an effort to make sure I could get myself dressed properly. 

So the next day, I was wearing the new dress he’d bought me, more than ready to get home. There was something very different about before though. Prompto was the one who was pushing me out of the doctor’s office in the wheelchair that he’d dropped a stupid amount of money on, Ignis and Gladio following behind us. He never said a word about it, like he was ready and willing to accept this as the new normal for us.

I, on the other hand, felt weirdly embarrassed. I didn’t really have a reason to. I knew that somewhere in my confused brain. I was just hurt, and I needed a little bit of help. That was all. But I still felt strange, and vulnerable. I could feel people staring at me without even trying to hide it as we went towards my apartment. 

I suppose in a way, that made me feel as if I wasn’t normal. 

So I hung my head low as we went, hoping that no one could see my face as they stared at me, clutching onto the bag of things that Prompto had bought me from home. 

No one said a word until we were in the apartment, with just a little bit of difficulty. 

It felt like it had been a lifetime since I’d been home. So much had changed since I was last here, but it still looked the same. Almost, anyway. There was a box close to the door that hadn’t been there before with Prompto’s bag perched on top. And on the coffee table, there was a vase that was holding the paper flowers that Prompto had made me for my birthday the year before. 

I’d almost forgotten about them, as I’d left them in Hammerhead before. But he’d kept them all this time, which gave me a reason to smile just a little bit. 

Once we were all inside, and the door behind us was closed, Ignis was the first one to speak. 

“Well, first things first, I think we should make sure you get a good meal. There’s no use in leaving Prompto to cook something substantial for you on his own,” Ignis said with a mocking tone. Prompto pouted slightly as I looked at him, but he didn’t disagree. 

Ignis seemed to be able to navigate my apartment perfectly, finding a notepad and pen and he began scrawling down a list of things. Once he was done, he handed it to Prompto. 

“Would you mind going to the market with Gladio? I’ll get started with what I can while you’re gone.”

Prompto frowned slightly as he looked over the list. 

“Alright, I guess. Did you want anything while I was out?” Prompto asked, leaning over slightly to look at me. 

“I don’t think so,” I answered, not really sure if there was anything I needed particularly. With that, he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and he made his way out with Gladio following closely behind. 

Once the door was closed, Ignis let out a long sigh as his balled up fists settled on his hips. 

“I suppose I should check that there’s nothing in the fridge that’s gone off,” he said as he began to walk into the kitchen. I wanted to chase after him, but I was stuck to this stupid chair that I couldn’t get out of. 

“Wait,” I said, my voice quiet, but enough to catch his attention. He turned, looking in my direction. “Can I ask you something?”

“I mean, of course you can. What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“How did you get used to it? Y’know, losing your eyesight?” I asked, though unsure if it was an appropriate question to ask. I figured that if anyone was going to have any insight into what it was I was supposed to do, it would be Ignis. I just hadn’t had the chance to talk to him on his own since I’d woken up. Prompto was pretty adamant that he wasn’t going anywhere.

He pondered for a moment, as if he was trying to recall what it was that he did when it came to adjusting to such a big change.

“I’m not sure I have any grand advice for you, I’m afraid. I always told myself that it was a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things, really.”

“Oh, right. When you first came back from Altissia, you made it sound like you were just doing your duty,” I remembered, sinking back into the chair. 

“Well, I suppose that’s true. But I suppose the one thing I do have to offer is that although it seems like it’s impossible, you do get used to it. Things get easier, or at least they seem easier because you get stronger,” he said, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly. 

“You do know how to put things in a reassuring way,” I told him, and he smirked. 

“Just don’t feel badly about it. That’s all I ask. I know it’s hard to feel so dependant on other people when you’ve been quite independant for a long while now, but it’s just for now. Besides, no one feels like you’re a burden.”

I chuckled slightly, realising that talking to Ignis about everything was a good idea. He just seemed to know exactly how I was feeling, and with reason. He’d been in a similar position before. 

“So the guys helped you out after you left Altissia?”

He nodded, still smirking slightly.

“Prompto especially.”

“Really?”

“Indeed. I think he was quite worried about me, so he’d always be a step behind to help me up when I stumbled. I have no reason to doubt that he’ll do the same for you. So don’t reject his help too much. He means well,” Ignis explained as he turned and began making his way back into the kitchen once again.

Prompto and Gladio barely took any time in their shopping, and I knew it was because Prompto wanted to get back home as soon as he could. By the time he’d come back, I was slumped in my chair uncomfortably, wondering what to do.

I’d lost my phone during the whole ordeal, so I couldn’t even busy myself with King’s Knight. I was just left to mull over my conversation with Ignis, and think about all of the things that I’d have to get used to. 

When they returned, Prompto was almost immediately at my side, smiling as much as he could which wasn’t much more than a small smirk. Gladio joined Ignis in the kitchen, taking the paper bag of things to him, while Prompto was left to fuss over me. 

“You don’t have to worry about me so much,” I told him almost straight away. 

“It’s part of the boyfriend job, isn’t it?” he joked, leaning over to brush a few strands of hair out of my face. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“I’m as alright as I can be, for now at least. Though I’m uncomfortable, I guess,” I told him. 

“As in, you’re in pain, or you’re just uncomfortable?”

“Just uncomfortable. This chair is… I don’t know, not that great,” I said, tapping on the arm of the chair. “Wanna help me sit anywhere else?” I asked, and he was quick to nod. He managed to pull me out of the chair, holding onto me tightly as I balanced on the one good leg that I knew wouldn’t buckle under my weight. 

I think we both knew that I wasn’t quite up to figuring out how to hop over to the couch without hurting myself, so he was quick to scoop me up almost effortlessly and carry me over to my new seat. Under any other circumstance, I would have felt pretty awful about taking up the entire couch when I had other people around, but I decided that I could make an exception for today. 

I wondered how it was that I could be so tired even though I’d done nothing but rest for over a week by that point. 

“Better?” he asked me after I’d had a few seconds to settle down.

“Better,” I responded with a nod. With my response, Prompto took a seat on the floor, leaning against the sofa and letting out a long breath. “Are you okay?” I asked, reaching over to play with with his soft blonde hair that hadn’t been styled since I’d woken up. It had been surprisingly flat and un-Prompto. It was cute, but it felt very much unlike him.

“I am looking forward to sleeping in a bed later,” he said as he closed his eyes and leant into my hand. “But I’m really glad you’re home. You had me scared for a while there.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out,” I said with a sigh. 

“Don’t be sorry. You’re alive. That’s all I care about right now.”

“I guess it was a close call, huh?” I asked, my fingers beginning to trace to the nape of his neck. He let out a small, quiet moan as he leant his head forward. After a few seconds, his hand reached around to my own and he very lightly stroked the back of my knuckles.

“Yeah. Too close,” he finally said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I should thank you, really.”

“Thank me?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

“You wouldn’t remember, I guess. But you saved my life. It’s how you got so hurt in the first place,” he explained, moving his head slightly so that he could look at me. “So I guess that means you really do still love me, huh?”

He looked like he was trying to grin at me, but at the same time, I could see that he was remembering something that he’d rather forget. His eyes looked just the slightest touch glassier than usual. He looked like he felt… guilty, perhaps?

“I do,” I said, smiling at him. “But I’m glad that it was me that got hurt and not you. You’ve got a job to do when Noct comes back, right?” I said, doing my best to reassure him. Though I couldn’t remember a thing about what happened, I knew that wasn’t the only reason that I would have helped him. I knew I did it because I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to him. 

“Right,” he said with a nod. “Though don’t be in such a rush to get yourself killed next time.”

“I’m hoping there won’t be a next time, to be honest.”

He smiled, nodding again before he began to relax into the small touches that I was laying on his neck. It almost felt bizarre to be able to touch him so casually. It was like he’d never really gone anywhere, and that he’d been here all along. 

As I thought about it, a familiar and delicious aroma began to fill the air. I sniffed a few times, trying to figure out exactly what it was that Ignis and Gladio were doing in the kitchen -- although I was pretty sure it was mostly Ignis doing the work if it came to cooking.

It wasn’t too much longer before Gladio came out of the kitchen with four bowls stacked on top of each other, and four sets of chopsticks. He quietly laid them all out on the coffee table before taking a seat across from Prompto. 

“Are you okay, Gladio?” I asked. He’d been quieter than usual, and I had to wonder if he’d been going over the details of what happened to Amarantha in his head over and over again. He looked up at me, almost like he was surprised that I’d asked. For a few seconds, he rolled his head from side to side as if he didn’t really know. 

“I think I am. At least considering everything that’s happened,” he said, sounding like he was trying to hold back a sigh. 

“You know, if you want to talk about anything, I’ll be happy to hear you out,” I told him. He looked down at his hand, letting out another sigh. 

“You really don’t have to. Besides, I’m still not good about the whole talking about feelings thing,” he responded, almost like he felt guilty about something. “But I’ll keep it in mind.”

It was only after a brief moment of silence that Ignis entered the room. He flawlessly managed to place a very familiar pot on the table in front of the three of his before he stood up with his hands on his hips as if he felt proud of his work. I looked over to the meal before I started grinning.

“You made hot pot?” I asked, giggling slightly. Prompto’s eyes were on me as I laughed a little, and he looked as if a huge weight had been taken off of his shoulders. 

“What else was I going to make to welcome you home?” Ignis asked, as if it was the most obvious thing he possibly could have done. 

As we ate away at the delicious hot pot -- that was absolutely better than anything I’d ever made -- I realised very quickly that I had a lot of things that I should have been thankful for. I wasn’t exactly sure how difficult it would be to adjust to what life had turned into, but I had Prompto beside me, who at one point I thought I’d lost. I had Ignis who seemed to be turning into the closest thing I’d ever had to a parental figure. And I had Gladio who I’d grown close to over the last year. 

Really, the most important thing was that I was alive so that I could cherish the people around me. Everything else would be figured out, one way or another, I thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still away, and I'm not going to be able to update anything for the next week because I'm trying to enjoy my time away from home a little bit before I go back. But at least this is something, I suppose. And I updated the chapter number so you all know how close we're getting to the end. It's weird thinking that I'm almost finished with this story. 
> 
> My fun fact for you all today is that I've been doing a little bit of coding on the visual novel I'm working on. There is definitely a part of my code called The Prompto Code that prompts the players to click onto the next text box. I'm way too happy that he's worked his way in there, somehow.


	42. Chapter 42

People weren’t buried in Lestallum. There was barely enough room for the living without turning a large area into a graveyard. So the hunters who had lost their lives trying to keep us safe weren’t buried. The people who had lived in Lestallum their entire lives only to get sick and die weren’t buried. 

My best friend was, of course, no exception. There would not be a place where I could go to pay my respects to her, or pretend that she could hear me talk. 

The morning of her funeral felt surreal, in a way. For the longest time, I’d assumed that she had died, but I’d never known, so I couldn’t bring myself to grieve for her. Now that I knew that she was gone, and I’d had a short while to mull over it, I didn’t feel a whole lot of anything. 

I knew that there was a sadness that was hidden somewhere within me, but I hadn’t spent my days sobbing over losing her since I’d first found out that she was gone. More than anything, I felt guilty for not being able to do anything for her. 

There were five of us in total who made it to her funeral. Gladio, Ignis, Iris, Prompto and myself.

Gladio, when I first saw him, looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in weeks. His eyes seemed puffy and sore, though I wasn’t sure if that was because he’d not rested properly in a long time, or because he’d been crying when he’d had moments by himself. I chose not to question him on it, because he at least seemed like the kind of person that wanted to keep up the appearance of a strong man who didn’t let things like this bother him too much. 

I hoped that maybe he would find some peace after we’d gained whatever closure we could. I wondered if I would perhaps feel less guilty afterwards, though I wasn’t convinced.

On that morning, we made our way slowly down to the very bottom of Lestallum that overlooked the Disc of Cauthess. It had taken longer than we’d thought because Lestallum was built entirely on stacks of steps that I couldn’t get down in my wheelchair. I’d never noticed it before, until suddenly I couldn’t use them anymore. 

After walking around for a little too long, trying to see if there was a better way down, Prompto effortlessly picked me up out of my chair and began to carry me towards where it was we were going. Iris followed behind, carrying the wheelchair as she went. 

I felt pathetic, of course, and the eyes of the people around us were burning my skin as we walked. On that morning, though, there was something more important on my mind. 

Eventually, after far too long, we were where we needed to be, looking over the Disc. I was placed back down carefully in the chair, but Prompto was quick to scoop up my hand and give it a tight squeeze. I think really, Prompto knew how weird being confined to a chair made me feel. I’d been pretty independent my entire life, at least when it came to doing such mundane and trivial things like walking to the store, and suddenly that wasn’t who I was anymore. 

Regardless, I squeezed his hand back, and gave him a small smile of thanks. 

I looked around quietly for a few minutes, realising that we weren’t the only ones who were saying goodbye to someone that we loved on that day. We weren’t the only ones who were dressed in black with sullen looks on our faces. It looked like there were at least two families who were saying their farewells to someone that they cared for very much.

It felt wrong to impose on their last moments with whoever it was they were grieving for, so we waited patiently instead. We were quiet as we waited for the most part. That was until Gladio crouched down next to me, awkwardly looking like he had something to say, but unsure how to say it.

“You remember when I told you that I was going to ask Amarantha to marry me?” he asked, and I nodded firmly in response. “And I said that you were probably the closest thing that she had to family.”

“Yeah. I remember that,” I said, still nodding. 

“Well, I had her ashes split into two urns. I was hoping you’d scatter them with me,” he sighed, opening the box he’d been carrying with him. Sure enough, there were two pots that were tucked inside, carefully padded with what looked like silk. “You know, because it’s something that her family should do, really.”

“Yeah. I agree. I’d be honoured,” I said, nodding again. He looked relieved as I agreed, and he gave a small sigh. 

“Thank you,” he said as he smiled just slightly. He carefully took one of the urns out of the box and handed it to me so that I could cradle it on my lap. And then we began to wait again in silence.

It gave me a long while to think about the urn of ashes that was on my lap, held with one of my hands as Prompto held the other. It was strange at how disconnected I felt to it. I knew that inside that urn was the remnants of someone who was incredibly important to me. Inside was the woman who I’d spent so much of my time with, who had offered me advice when I needed it, who had given me a shoulder to cry on when things were too hard. We’d spent days dreaming about the future, and about what we’d like to do when the sunlight came back. Inside that urn was my best friend who I’d joked around with in the locker room at work, who I’d eaten with at The Surgate’s Beanmine almost every day, and who I enjoyed being around more than any other friend I’d had in my life. 

I loved her, and I missed her. But I knew that she wasn’t inside the urn. Not really. 

Everything that had made her who she was had already gone. 

While we waited, I had a long time to think about it, and her. I started to lean my head on Prompto’s arm that was beside me, sniffing slightly as I realised that she wasn’t there anymore. Realising that made me think on how final this all really was. He gave my hand another squeeze, trying to comfort me, but I knew that really, he had no idea how to make things any better.

The only thing he could really do was squeeze my hand and let me cry if that was what I needed to do. And he was content to sit with me while I cried, and he was happy to listen to everything that I had to say. He was more patient than he ever had been before. And that was saying something, because he’d always been patient. 

But on that morning, we we silent. There wasn’t really anything for us to talk about. We were just left to our own thoughts until there was finally no one else around us, leaving us to ourselves. 

We moved forward, though I was still staring at the small urn in my hands, trying to find something of my best friend there. I couldn’t, though. 

Prompto helped me to stand up, though I was leaning a lot of my weight on him as I tried to balance on my one working leg. His arm wrapped around my waist as he held onto me tightly, letting me know that he wouldn’t let me fall. 

Gladio looked to me, as if he was looking for some kind of signal from me. I could see that his eyes were slightly glassy, though it was hard to tell in the dim streetlights. He looked as if he was trying his best to hold himself together, though I couldn’t imagine how he was doing it.

I thought that if anything had happened to Prompto, I really wouldn’t be able to keep myself together like he was in that moment. But really, I supposed that was who Gladio really was. He was very different from me. 

Eventually, I gave him a small nod, and we opened our urns in unison, holding them over the wall. Silently, I said my goodbye to my best friend. I wished her well in whatever afterlife there might have been. I hoped that she had found peace. I prayed that she forgave me for not being able to protect her.

And then we sent her ashes on the wind, so that they could be carried off across Lucis and perhaps further. She was finally free to travel wherever it was that the breeze would take her, and she wouldn’t be in danger of the endless night. We could only watch as what was left of her quickly disappeared. 

After maybe thirty seconds of complete silence, Gladio let out a hefty sigh.

“I could use a drink,” he admitted as he turned to look at me. He’d let just a single tear escape from his eye, and he made no attempt to wipe it away as his face contorted slightly. 

“So could I,” I told him in a voice that wasn’t much more than a whisper. 

With my best friend gone, we made our way to the bar where we used to work together, all agreeing that a drink was perhaps the perfect thing for us to do at that moment. 

It was only a few minutes of walking that was made a minute or two longer by Prompto having to pick me up and carry me up the stairs. Lestallum really was inconvenient nowadays. Regardless, we made it there. I noticed that there was a sign on the door that simply read ‘closed until further notice.’ 

That was fine, though. Gladio had told me he’d talked to the boss earlier in the week to ask if we could visit after we’d said our goodbyes to her. Gladio gave the door handle a weak push as if he was testing it, and it opened without any resistance. 

Prompto quickly wheeled me inside, and I saw my boss behind the bar straight away. As he looked up at me, his face brightened up, and he quickly rushed around to greet us properly. He didn’t seem at all phased by the current state of my being. As he rushed to see us, he didn’t hesitate in bending down slightly to wrap his arms around me in a tight hug.

It surprised me a little, because he’d never hugged me before. But I thought that maybe he was just thankful that at least one of his missing workers had survived. 

“I’m so glad to see you’re okay,” he told me with a relieved sigh. 

“I think our definitions of okay are a bit different,” I said, trying to giggle slightly, but it seemed forced at best. I tapped on the arm of my chair just to make sure that he’d seen it, but he just smiled at me.

“You’re alive, aren’t you?” he questioned.

“That, I can’t really argue with,” I nodded. “I’m sorry if I worried you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Come on, I told Gladio that I’d treat you to some food. And I need to talk to you anyway,” he said as he began to walk away, silently willing us to follow him. 

He took us to the largest table and we all took our seats. The boss pulled over one more seat so that he could sit backwards on it, and lean his arms on the back of it. He thought for a few seconds before he reached towards his back pocket and pulled out two envelopes. 

“Gladio told me about what happened to you,” he started, his voice a mumble that sounded as if it was edging on sadness. “I assume you’ll want to quit your job here.”

“Well, I don’t  _ want  _ to. But I don’t really think I have much of a choice right now,” I sighed. “Surprisingly, I really enjoyed working here. I got the chance to see what it was like to live out my dreams every time I got to sing.”

I knew that at that moment, we both looked wistful as we thought on it. 

“I wanted to thank you, actually,” I continued. “Thank you for giving me the chance to do that. Working here was fun, aside from this last year, really. I don’t think I really knew before I started working here that having a job could be something that was fun, and something that didn’t really feel like a pain.”

He chuckled slightly, before he shook his head.

“I should be the one thanking you. You put in a lot of hard work, and you ended up being pretty popular with the locals. You made me a fair amount of money, I have to admit.”

“I was just doing my job,” I said, smiling at him. 

It was then that he handed me one of the envelopes. My name was scrawled on the front in messy handwriting that could have only belonged to him. 

“There are a couple of cheques in there. One of them is from me, because I don’t want to leave you with nothing. It should keep you going for a little while, or pay off some of your medical bills if you need help with that. The other one is from a few of your regular customers. When they heard you were hurt, they wanted to do something, so they passed a bucket around the bar a few nights ago to get something together for you.”

I looked at him curiously as he told me about my regular customers. I could think of quite a few of them, but I was positive that the ones who had the idea of helping me were the women that I regularly served who worked at the power plant, and would often chat with me as they had their drinks. 

I felt a lump in my throat as I thought about them, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the kind gestures from both the regulars and my boss.

“You really didn’t need to do anything for me,” I told him as I looked at the envelope that was somehow in my fingers. 

“I don’t really think I’d be able to sleep at night if I didn’t do anything to help you out. But I do have a request to make in exchange,” he said with a smile, and I tilted my head at him, telling him to go on. “If you ever feel like you want to sing again, let me know. I’ll have a stage waiting for you.”

I managed to nod, but his words had caught me off guard and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I let out a long breath as I tried to compose myself, but really, I did feel heartbroken that I wouldn’t be able to work at the bar anymore. 

He nodded at me, giving me a firm pat on the shoulder before he turned to Gladio, handing him the second envelope. 

“I’d put some money aside for Amarantha, just incase she came back and found that she needed some help. Really, I can’t use this money for anything else. It just feels kind of wrong, y’know. So you take it. You can use it for whatever you want. You can drink away your pain, you can get a memorial made for her, it’s completely up to you.”

Gladio looked at him with a frown, almost like he was confused. But still, he found himself taking the envelope from the boss. 

“I don’t really need this,” Gladio mumbled. 

“It’s yours,” my boss said with a sternness that even Gladio found hard to argue with. “Anyway. I’ll get you some drinks.”

With that, he stood up and left. 

Prompto, who had stayed quiet the entire time leant over towards me as I looked at the envelope in my hands.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

“Mm,” I managed to hum slightly. “I’m just gonna miss this place.”

“You can still come here, even if you don’t work here,” he said, smiling at me slightly. “Though I suppose it’s not really the same.”

“No, it won’t be. Could you help me clean out my locker before we go?” I sniffed. 

“Of course,” he smiled, scooting his chair closer to me so that he could rest his head against mine. It was those small gestures that made me feel like everything would be alright, somehow. 

We ate, and we drank, but we stayed mostly in silence until the morning became the afternoon, and the afternoon became the early evening. I was starting to feel exhausted, and I just wanted to go home and take a bath. 

Iris was the first to leave, followed by Ignis, leaving just me, Prompto and Gladio at the table. It felt a little bit awkward when it was just the three of us, but it wasn’t much longer before Gladio started collecting his things, looking like he was about to leave. 

Before he did though, he turned to me, and handed me the envelope that had been given to him by the boss before. 

“What’s this for?” I asked as he thrust it towards me a second time, though he didn’t seem to be able to look me in the eye. 

“Just take it. I don’t need this, and I don’t really want it. I think Am would have wanted you to take it, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Still, I felt hesitant to take it. 

“Please take it,” he murmured quietly. He almost seemed like he felt guilty. He seemed just the slightest bit relieved as I took the envelope in my fingers so that he could release it. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Prompto frowning at Gladio slightly. I wondered if he still thought about that night in Lestallum where Gladio had tried to kiss me. 

He didn’t say another word as he walked towards the door, adjusting the collar of his shirt as he went. 

“Weird,” I mumbled as I looked to Prompto who looked a little perturbed at best. 

“Yeah,” he said quietly before he stood up and started to adjust his Crownsguard jacket. “So, shall we get to the locker clear out?” he asked like he was trying to forget the subject, and I nodded.

I’d forgotten how much junk I’d managed to accumulate in my locker. It was just supposed to be a place for me to put my bag and any non-uniform clothes that had somehow made their way into the building.

After Prompto had left to live in Hammerhead and train with Cor, I’d started spending a lot of time at work, so I’d gone out of my way to make my locker feel as if it was my home away from home. The back of the door was decorated with photographs. Even though we’d broken up, there were still photos of Prompto and myself stuck there, which he grinned at when he saw them. 

The boss had come to sit with us and talk a little bit while I cleared it out. He’d even gone out of his way to find a paper bag for me to put my things in. We didn’t really talk about anything of meaning. 

He asked me what it was that I was planning to do with my time how that I wasn’t able to work, and I told him that I didn’t know. Prompto somehow managed to make small talk with him as I sorted through my things. 

At the end of it, I’d found a t-shirt that I’d completely forgotten about, about 400 gil in loose change that must have fallen out of my bag at some point, an umbrella that I’d left at work in case it rained, a half read book that I’d tried to read on my breaks, but it ended up being incredibly boring, a tube of hand cream that smelt like vanilla, and a few piles of photos that I hadn’t quite gotten around to putting up on the door. 

I started flicking through them as Prompto and the boss talked. There were photos of Prompto that I’d brought with me to cheer me up if I ever felt down, and there were a few photos that someone had taken at the bar itself. There were photos of me and my best friend in there, and just looking at them I could feel my eyes begin to sting. 

I was fed up of crying, I thought. 

Instead, I took in a deep breath and puffed my cheeks slightly as I looked through them, trying to keep myself from crying for what would have felt like the thousandth time that week.

She looked so different in the photos to how I remembered her in the back of the truck when I last saw her. She looked so healthy in the photographs. Her skin was bright as she smiled, and she looked so happy, like she’d never known what hardship was. When I’d last seen her, everything about her seemed grey. 

Looking at the photographs in that moment made me feel anything but happy, so I shoved them into the bag and began to look inside the locker to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. 

“I’m done,” I told the two of them once everything was gone. It felt weird and uncomfortable seeing how empty it was. “I think I’d like to go home now.”

Prompto tilted his head slightly, sensing that something wasn’t quite right about me, but he didn’t argue. 

“Alright, don’t be afraid to stop by and visit if you ever need a drink,” the boss said as he stood himself up. He shuffled towards the door, holding it open for the two of us as Prompto pushed me outside. I gave him a slight wave as we went, knowing that I’d see him again, but somehow still sad at how final everything felt on that particular day.

I was thankful when we were finally home because the day had felt like the longest one I’d had in a long while. I let out a sigh of relief as I started undoing a few of the buttons on my blouse just to make it a little easier to move. I was hoping that I’d feel better after the funeral. As it turned out, I didn’t really feel any different. 

It felt like I was broken, in some way. I just really didn’t feel much like smiling anymore.

“I want to go in the bath. Got any ideas about how I can do that?” I asked.

Prompto paused for a moment, placing his index finger in his lips as he thought, giving out a loud hum of consideration. Over the last few days, that was the question I asked the most. If there was something I couldn’t do because I was confined to my chair, he’d think about it for a while until he came up with a solution. It must have only been about ten seconds before he nodded and smiled at me.

“We can take one together,” he said, a hint of pride in his voice. 

“Hm. I suppose that sounds okay,” I replied, though the idea made me feel somewhat nervous. It had been a long time since he’d seen me naked, and the last time I wasn’t covered in bruises, cuts, and the beginnings of scars that would litter my skin. It wasn’t the normal kind of nervous I felt around him. It was a new kind, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

“Maybe it’d give us a chance to talk properly today,” he offered, leaning over to brush my hair out of my face. I nodded. I had a lot of thoughts on my mind, though I really wasn’t sure if I could really voice them. “Should I start running the bath, then?” he asked, and I nodded slightly. 

Getting into the bath had been a little bit embarrassing for me. I’d had to get myself undressed, and then have Prompto lower me into the water himself. It felt weird, and it wasn’t something that I particularly enjoyed. I felt almost like I was half of a person.

But Prompto didn’t even think twice, and he didn’t complain, and he didn’t even look at anything that might have embarrassed me slightly. He was being completely perfect, but I still felt uncomfortable. 

He gave me a few minutes on my own, and I found my fingers tracing the still very prominent scar that sat just slightly below my sternum. It didn’t hurt anymore, but it looked like it really had at some point. I still didn’t remember a thing from what happened. And I couldn’t really bring myself to give my knee more than a glance. It looked like it was healing, at least. 

I was broken out of my thoughts by Prompto quietly climbing into the water behind me. Once he was settled, he was quick to bring me to lie on his chest as his fingers ghosted my own. I felt just slightly better, knowing that he was just as exposed as I was. 

“Hey, Prompto?” I asked quietly as I closed my eyes, trying to savour the feeling of his bare skin pressed against my own. 

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic lately,” I informed him. He hummed slightly, as if he was curious, and telling me to go on. “I was thinking about that road trip we took before. It must have been seven years ago now.”

“I remember you were really scared of the chocobos,” he mused, sniggering slightly.

“They’re huge! I had every right to be scared.”

He placed a kiss in the crook of my neck as he giggled slightly. 

“Anyway,” I continued. “I was thinking that things have really changed a lot since then. I feel like I’m a different person.”

“Hm,” he thought for a second. “Things are different, yeah. You thought I was really into Cidney. And you were really… sassy.”

“Is sassy a compliment?” I asked, raising an eyebrow over my shoulder. 

“I mean, I loved you when you were sassy, so I guess so,” he reasoned. 

“You loved me back then, huh?” I asked, and he nodded in response. “Since when?”

“I mean, probably since school. But when we were on that road trip was when I figured it out. And it just all made sense, y’know? And I know things are different now because we’ve both changed and the world isn’t what it used to be.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Maybe if the world had never changed things would be different. Maybe I’d still feel like me,” I sighed. “Sorry, this is probably really complicated for a conversation in the bath, right?”

“Nah. And you’re still you, you know? Just a different you,” he said reassuringly, to which I scoffed slightly. 

“So do you still love the different me?” I asked, knowing what his answer would be. 

“I’ve never been more in love with you than I am right now,” he said, pressing another kiss to my neck. He didn’t even have to think about it, the words just effortlessly flowed out of his mouth. “I know that you probably don’t believe me, but I mean it. I was so proud of you when you were on the phone with me when you were with Amarantha. You handled everything as perfectly as you could, and you didn’t even complain about it for a second. You said you were scared, but that was it. You just did what you thought you needed to do.”

“I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do. All I really did was check to see if anyone else was still awake. It didn’t really do me any good,” I sighed. 

“I’m still proud of you. And more than anything else, I’m glad you’re here. We never would have gotten to take a bath together if you weren’t, right?” he giggled, like he was trying to cheer me up. “I hope I get to see Aranea again soon so that I can thank her properly.”

“Who’s that?”

“She saved your life. She’s pretty cool. But I don’t remember getting the chance to thank her before she left,” he mumbled. 

“It should be me thanking her then, shouldn’t it?” He wobbled his head from side to side slightly as if he was stuck in between shaking his head and nodding.  “Well, hopefully we’ll have the chance to thank her together,” I offered as I laced my fingers through his and let out a slight moan of comfort. It was just a few seconds later that I could feel something stiff pressing against the bottom of my back. Slowly, I turned to look at Prompto with a raised eyebrow, and his face was stained with the cutest shade of pink.

“Uh, sorry. It’s been a while,” he muttered, shifting slightly under my weight. 

I couldn’t help but giggle a little at him, and for the first time that day, it was a genuine laugh. 

“You’re way too adorable,” I mumbled as I turned my head just enough to place a kiss on his chest. 

“That is not helping.”

“At least I must have something that still gets you going,” I joked, and he laughed slightly. 

“I mean, you’re beautiful, so yes, obviously. But I feel like  _ anything  _ gets me going lately,” he admitted. 

“Okay, well now I need an example,” I said as I looked at him, smirking slightly. 

He let out a long sigh as he lowered his head. 

“When I was in Hammerhead, I’d had this chocolate bar that was kinda melted. So when I went to eat it, I had to lick some of it off of the packaging,” he told me. I waited for a moment, thinking there was more to the story, but instead he just looked at me. 

“That’s it?”

“Yup.”

“Oh dear,” I said, feeling just the slightest bit sorry for him. “So you didn’t find anyone to help you take care of your, uh, frustrations?”

“What? No. I always thought we were going to get back together, so I didn’t really feel like doing anything like that,” he told me, as if it should have been obvious. Maybe I was still feeling a little insecure, but I believed him when he spoke. “Oh, and I’m not trying to hint at anything. If you’re not feeling up to the whole intimacy thing right now, that’s totally fine.”

“I mean, this is pretty intimate already,” I informed him. 

“Well, I was talking about sex, I just wanted to be a bit coy about it,” he chuckled. I giggled in response as I settled into his chest again. 

“I wonder how that would even work now,” I pondered out loud as I pointed to my knee. “We’re more limited than we were before.”

He lowered his head slightly so that his lips were close to my ear. As he spoke, I felt like I was hyper aware of his breath that brushed against my skin. 

“I mean, we can find out whenever you want,” he whispered in a low, husky tone. 

I felt like my breath caught in my throat. I absolutely loved it when he made those whispered promises to me.

“Bath first, flirting later,” I managed to tell him as I smoothed out a few of the bubbles on the surface. He pouted slightly, looking almost rejected. I smiled slightly as I shifted up so that I could place my lips on his jaw briefly. “I promise it’ll be worth the wait.”

He bit his lip slightly, but nodded. 

“I mean, I didn’t doubt it anyway,” he mumbled, so quiet that I only just heard it. 

The rest of the bath went by peacefully as we talked between ourselves, and when there was a moment or two of silence, Prompto would find the nearest patch of my skin that he could place soft kisses onto. After the initial embarrassment had worn off, the whole experience was actually really nice and relaxing. 

Once we’d had the better part of an hour in there, he quickly hopped out of the water and covered himself up with a towel. He was quick to scoop me out of the water, but he had to place me on the floor so that I could wrap myself up in a warm, fluffy towel of my own. Instead of standing over me, though, he quickly sat himself down next to me, and placed a small kiss on my shoulder. 

“That was nice,” he told me. “Thanks for letting me join you.”

“You can join me more often if you want,” I smirked, and his cheeks turned to a slightly brighter shade of pink. 

“I’d like that,” he said, nodding slightly. 

“You have to make good on your own promise first though,” I said, raising an eyebrow at him. “You know, about finding out what our limitations are now.”

He looked surprised for a moment before he smirked slightly.

“If that’s what you want.”

I could only nod before he picked me up off of the floor and began to hastily carry me towards the bed in the other room. I couldn’t stop myself from giggling at how eager he seemed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from my trip away~! I'd really planned to have this entire thing finished by August because I have so many trips away from home (and the internet) planned for this month, but as it turns out, I can't stick to my own deadlines, hehe. Anyway, thank you for all the comments and the kudos I've received while I was away. I was planning to respond to them all, but I feel like an asshole for doing it so late. So I don't know. I'll make more of an effort to respond to the newer ones I receive. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for your patience! <3


	43. Chapter 43

I came out of my slumber on that morning earlier than usual, still somewhat bleary-eyed as I searched for the clock on my bedside table. It was just before 9am, and usually I would have rolled over and gone back to sleep in the arms of my boyfriend who was still soundly asleep next to me. 

I knew it wouldn’t be much longer before his alarm went off to drag him out of his own sleep, so instead I just turned around to look at him. 

He looked so peaceful as he slept, which was enough to make me smile. 

Over the last year since he’d returned to Lestallum, he’d aged just slightly. He was starting to get these creases around his eyes that were just a little bit more defined whenever he smiled. In a way, I actually loved looking at them, because it was proof that even in the world that we lived in, we were growing together, and getting older together. 

I couldn’t help myself as I looked at him. I just felt the need to stroke the few strands of hair that were in his face away. My fingers brushed his cheek slightly, and he let out the smallest sigh. I couldn’t believe that I was still so in love with someone after so long. 

I always had the image of my parents when I thought of couples that had been around for a while. They were still together when I last saw them what must have been over ten years ago by that point, but it always seemed like they just put up with each other, and had resigned themselves to staying married. 

They didn’t seem like they were happy, nor did they seem like they were still in love. They seemed like they felt a responsibility above anything else.

But there I was, eight years after the sunlight had disappeared, still in love with Prompto, and still sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. 

The last year hadn’t been easy on either of us, that much I was sure of. It had been a year of physical therapy which had cost a fortune, and that in itself was difficult. I’d fallen down nearly every time we’d gone, and more than a few times I’d sat on the floor and cried as I willed my leg to do the thing that I wanted it to do. 

Yet Prompto was always there to wipe away the tears, and encourage me to keep trying. He’d always be there to help me stand up and try again. I could see that he hated it when I got upset, because he’d get this look on his face that was trying to hide the hint of sadness that I knew he felt. 

He was very good at hiding it though, like he didn’t want me to know that things had been difficult for him. But with us being the way we were, I knew, and he knew that I knew. 

After all of the stress, and the upset, though, I had this feeling that we were slowly building a stronger bond. We’d gotten past the insecurities, and we’d gotten to the point where we were rather inseparable. We knew how to live when Prompto went away on a hunt for a little extra cash, or when Iris came over to take me out to lunch, but I always felt like I was at my brightest when he was around. 

He started to stir slightly from his sleep, his eyes opening just the slightest. He still looked sleepy, but he smirked as his eyes tried to focus on me. His hand slowly reached out to caress my hip slightly and pull himself closer to me as he tried to find some kind of sleep again, but I just giggled at him, and shook my head. 

“You only have about a minute before you need to get up,” I whispered to him. 

He groaned as if he was protesting, and burrowed his head into the pillow.

“Don’t wanna.”

“You have to. You need to have breakfast and get ready before Gladio comes over,” I said, giggling just slightly to make it seem as if I wasn’t nagging him too much.

“Gladio can wait,” he mumbled, before letting out a yawn. 

Just as he looked as if he’d gotten comfortable again, his phone began to vibrate on the bedside table as it blared out a familiar tune from King’s Knight. He groaned again before he threw his hand towards the offending object, trying his best to silence it. 

After successfully managing to turn it off -- or at least snooze it -- he stretched his arms out before they flopped back down on the bed. 

“I think someone needs some Ebony today,” I said as I sat up and began to shuffle towards the edge of the bed. That seemed to be enough to wake him up just slightly as I tried to maneuver myself into my chair. I knew I could do it, and so did Prompto, but it wasn’t going to stop him from worrying that I’d accidentally left the breaks off and I was on a fast track to the floor. 

Once I was safely sat down, I began to wheel myself into the kitchen. Over the last year, I’d learnt there was a lot I could do if certain things were moved to the lower cupboards. I still didn’t feel that confident in using the stove, but I could at least make Prompto a couple of slices of toast and get him a can of Ebony. 

So that’s exactly what I ended up doing. I had the feeling that he was watching me as I tried to get through the kitchen door without bumping into the door frame. My poor apartment had suffered a fair amount when it came to me learning how to use the chair on my own. There were chunks out of the door frames from where I’d rammed into them accidentally, or there were marks on the wall where I’d managed to scrape the paint away. 

I’d have to make sure that everything was repaired before I left, I thought. 

But that morning, as Prompto quietly watched me without saying a word, I made him breakfast that consisted of an iced coffee out of the fridge and a couple of slices of honey on toast. It wasn’t anything special by any means, but he smiled at me gratefully as he shuffled to the edge of the bed. 

“Are you going to be okay today?” he asked me as he took the food out of my lap. “I know you have therapy today, and I don’t want to miss it.”

“You aren’t going to miss anything special,” I said, trying to ease his worries. “Iris is going with me anyway, so it’s not like I’m going to be on my own.”

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, still sounding disappointed. 

That day was a little bit of a bigger deal for us than it should have been. Since he’d come back, he’d limited his hunts to day trips that meant he’d leave in the morning and be back in time to try and make dinner (though Ignis was usually close by to make sure he didn’t burn the kitchen down in his attempts).

But the hunt that he was going on on that day was going to take the better part of a week, meaning he had no choice but to miss out on at least one of my therapy sessions. Truth be told though, the money was just a little bit too good for him to turn it down. We’d been burning through our savings, and just a little bit more in the bank would have made things a bit more comfortable. 

I wondered if he worried that something else terrible was going to happen to me again, because in the run up to him going away, he’d warn me not to go out later than I should, and to make sure that I locked all the doors and windows. 

It wasn’t much longer before there was a knock on the door, and on the other side were both Gladio and Ignis. 

“You’re early,” I pointed out as I moved myself back so that they could let themselves in. “And I wasn’t expecting you, Ignis. I thought you were staying in Lestallum.”

“I am. I’m here to make some food for you so that you’ll only have to reheat it while you’re on your own,” he said, smiling happily as if it was no trouble for him at all while he raised a bag of groceries at me like it was proof. With that, he made his way into the kitchen and I heard the familiar sounds of pots and pans clanking as he dug them out of the cupboards. 

Gladio quickly and quietly closed the door behind him as he raised an eyebrow at Prompto who was still happily sipping on his can of Ebony, his hair even messier than it usually was, his body still clad in his comfy pyjamas. 

“I just woke up,” Prompto mumbled.

“I can see that,” Gladio responded bluntly. 

“I needed coffee,” Prompto tried to explain. 

“You can drink coffee in the car,” Gladio half-argued. He didn’t seem that enthusiastic about such a pointless discussion, but there wasn’t a lot he did seem enthusiastic about anymore really. He didn’t seem like he wanted to say much more, so he strode over to the couch on the other side of the room and practically fell into the cushions. 

“I won’t be long,” Prompto sighed as he shoved the last piece of toast in his mouth and headed towards the bathroom, scooping up his clothes along the way. 

“Have  _ you  _ eaten yet? Or have you just made breakfast for him?” Gladio asked from his slouched position. 

“I have a bit more time than he does, so I’ll make something once you’re gone. My appointment isn’t until this afternoon,” I explained, and he nodded slightly in acknowledgement. 

“I’m not sure if I feel happy that you’re doing things like that, or if I feel mad because Prompto isn’t doing it himself,” he said as he looked up at the ceiling. 

“You shouldn’t be mad. It makes me feel more normal when I can do things on my own,” I explained to him. “Though, I don’t suppose it’s something really anyone can understand. Aside from maybe Ignis.”

“And I  _ do  _ understand!” I heard Ignis call from the kitchen, earning a slight chuckle from both me and Gladio. 

“Anyway, how are you? It feels like it’s been awhile since I’ve seen you,” I said carefully. I didn’t want to bring up anything painful for him, because I knew that there was some part of him that would always feel guilt and grief. But much to my surprise, he managed a small nod. 

“I’m… getting there,” he told me, though I wasn’t really sure I understood what that meant. 

“Anywhere good?” I asked, smiling slightly. 

“I think so. It’s hard to tell, but I think living is getting a little more bearable,” he explained.

“I’m glad to hear that. Though come visit us more. It’s weird that I see your sister more often than I do you,” I frowned. 

He chuckled slightly, nodding, but he didn’t say anything more on the subject.

I felt for him. I really did feel for him because he’d never really known how it was that he should deal with negative feelings before, or at least that was the impression I got. So he’d just thrown himself into as many hunts as he could manage, only coming back to Lestallum for a day or two to get some rest.

It wasn’t up to me to tell him what to do. It wasn’t up to Prompto or Ignis either. And however much concern she felt, all that Iris could do was hope that he didn’t do anything too reckless. 

He never seemed to, at the very least. 

It was a minute later that Prompto was dragging his very tired self out of the bathroom, his feet dragging along the floor as he went towards the bed again. 

“I need to pick up more coffee before we leave,” Prompto yawned as he began to shove his feet into his boots and tie the laces. Luckily he’d already packed the night before, though he’d complained about it at the time, saying that he didn’t want to go. After he’d done, he stood up quickly and looked at me with a hint of sadness in his eyes. “C’mon, Gladio. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Gladio hauled himself up pretty quickly, as if he was eager to get going, but it still left enough time for Prompto to pout slightly as he looked at me. 

“Stop sulking,” I smirked at him. 

“I’m not sulking.”

“Then stop acting like you’re sulking.”

“Fine, I might be sulking a bit.”

“I’m going to be fine, you’re going to be fine, and we’ll go out for dinner when you get back,” I told him with a firm nod. 

“Can I get whatever I want?” he said, still pouting slightly. 

“Sure. My treat,” I giggled. 

At least his face seemed to brighten just a little bit as he leant forward to place a soft kiss on my lips before he straightened himself up. 

“I’ll see you in a few days. Call me if you need anything. And let me know how today goes. And don’t forget to eat. And lock the door once you get in.”

“You’re worrying too much,” I laughed. “I’ll be fine. You just focus on not getting yourself hurt, alright?”

He let out a sigh, and nodded before he padded over to the door and hauled his backpack up on his shoulders. It was with another small smile that he left the door, picking his keys up as he went, leaving Gladio to close the door behind him. 

Once he was gone, I could let out a long sigh of my own and look around my apartment. Luckily, Ignis was clinking away in the background, chopping up vegetables with a quickness that even I was impressed by. At least I wasn’t totally on my own straight away, I thought.

Ignis didn’t finish making the meals he’d planned to until after Iris had arrived. After he’d tucked them all into the fridge with little notes on how long I should warm them up in the microwave for, he left with a wave and a small smile as he usually did on the few occasions I saw him. 

He was, in a way, similar to Gladio. He’d often go on his own, nomadic way, taking on hunts as he went. I wasn’t exactly sure it was for the monetary benefits, but more that he wanted to help others, and in the process make himself stronger, proving that he was independant. It always felt quite lonely when he left, but he had this tendency to appear from time to time for a small catch up before he was on his way again. 

Though Ignis had just gone out of his way to make me way too much food, Iris and myself decided to take ourselves to The Surgate’s Beanmine to get lunch. It wasn’t too expensive, and it at least meant we were out of the apartment way before we needed to be, which in theory meant we’d be on time.

Prompto was a lot more strict when it came to timing, and I knew that he meant it in the best way he possibly could. But it sure was tiring sometimes. 

As I happily ate my soup, dipping the chunk of fresh bread into it and nibbling away, Iris looked a little troubled. I think she knew that I could see it on her face as I tilted my head at her.

“You know, I don’t know if I’ve ever asked you what it feels like,” she said, indicating with her eyes that she was talking about my leg. 

I chewed on my food as I thought about how I could put it. It was like a normality to me now. It only took me a few months to get used to the chair, and a little less than that to get used to the appointments with the doctor and the physical therapist. 

“I mean, if you’re asking how it feels physically, it doesn’t feel like anything, really,” I started explaining to her after I’d swallowed my food. “But if you’re asking how it feels mentally, that’s a bit more complicated.”

“Do you ever talk to Prompto about it?” she asked, and I shrugged in response.

“I haven’t in a long time. I mean, he already knows everything that I’m thinking, so we try to talk about other things so that we aren’t miserable all of the time. It works pretty well, y’know?”

“If I ask, is that really rude?” she asked quietly, not really sure of herself. 

“I’d actually encourage it,” I grinned. “I’m all about trying to get people to understand how it feels sometimes.”

She smiled at me in returned and relaxed into her seat as she seemed like she was ready to listen to me. I took in a deep breath as I prepared myself, knowing that I couldn’t make anything sound eloquent, but I could at least talk honestly. 

“It feels awful, to be honest. And it’s a lot of different kinds of awful. I have a lot of those moments where I question why it had to be me that got hurt. Or I see other people walking around, and I question why I can’t do that. Like, it was something that was so natural to me before, and now it’s like this maths problem that I just can’t figure out.”

I took in another breath as I reached for my iced tea. I took a few sips before I started talking again, and Iris was looking at me with interest still. 

“I have a lot of times where I get these looks when we’re out, and I’m sure I’m getting some of them right now. You know, people look at you in one of three ways when you’re so obviously at a disadvantage. They either look at you with pity, or they look at you with curiosity, or sometimes they’ll look at you in disgust. I think it’s because they don’t really know what’s wrong with me, and it’s like we all have this fear of the unknown, don’t you think?”

Iris nodded, though she sighed slightly. 

“In one way, I can’t blame them because everything feels like the unknown right now, but at the same time, it’s not like you chose to get hurt,” she said in a voice that sounded like she was sulking slightly. 

“Right? That’s what I think. But you can’t explain to people what’s wrong with you unless they ask. And they never ask, unless they know me already. And sometimes I can shrug it off because I’m having a good day, or because Prompto’s right behind me to glare at them for me. But other times it makes me feel like I’m missing a part of my humanity. It sounds dramatic, I guess, but I feel like I’m less human because I can’t do a thing that other humans can.”

Iris looked like she was thinking for a few moments, before she grinned at me. 

“Well, I personally think that you’ve got more spirit and determination than anyone who stares at you and makes you feel bad,” she said cheerfully. “I mean, if I was in your position, I don’t know that I’d handle it like you have.”

“It’s kinda down to Prompto. I like to think that I’d still go to my appointments and do my best if he’d decided to go back to Hammerhead, but I don’t know that I would. But I guess I’ll never really know.”

“You’ve gotta tell me how you found someone so perfect for you,” she giggled. 

“First, make sure he isn’t engaged,” I said with a smirk, and she sent me a glare in return. 

“He  _ wasn’t  _ engaged. At first.”

“I know. I’m joking,” I laughed, sticking my tongue out at her before I went back to my soup. “And I don’t think I really have an answer for that one. It was just a crazy coincidence. One that I’m pretty thankful for, but still, just a coincidence.”

“Or maybe it’s fate,” she said with a mystical tone to her voice as if she was making fun of me.

“Well, if it was fate, then you have nothing to worry about. Your dream guy will be along in no time,” I teased.

I was thankful beyond words when that weeks session of physical therapy was over and done with because it just sucked. It was the worst because I somehow felt like I’d lost progress. I blamed it on the fact that I was tired, and I’d made myself believe it was true at least, so I promised to keep up on my exercises when I was at home and left. 

Afterwards, I’d mostly laid on the sofa and watched a lot of TV for a few days, eating the meals that Ignis had left me. I just felt so drained, but I did get the chance to enjoy time on my own for a little bit. I just realised that I didn’t have all that much to do apart from motivate myself into doing the things that I was supposed to do. 

It was weird that I missed working. Yeah, my job was just in a bar, and it really wasn’t anything special, but I enjoyed feeling like I had something to do. I enjoyed having some semblance of community around me in both my co-workers and the customers. 

Maybe I could convince Prompto to go there for dinner when he got back. 

It was late in the evening when I heard the lock on the door begin to twist. I was a little bit dozy as I heard it, because until then I’d been lazily enjoying the breeze from the open window as I laid on the sofa, curled up in my pyjamas. 

I managed to tilt my head to look at the door, and as I’d guessed, a very exhausted looking Prompto managed to almost fall through the door as he dropped his bag. He didn’t look any worse for wear. He just looked like he needed a bath and a long, long sleep.

“Hey, beautiful,” he grinned as he saw me, but his words were slightly elongated like he was drunk on the lack of sleep. 

“Hey, sunshine,” I said, smiling back at him and reaching my arm out towards him. After he’d closed the door, he was quickly coming towards me, scooping my hand up in his own and dipping down slightly to press his lips to the back of it. “Good trip?”

“I’ve never been so tired,” he said as he slumped on the floor next to me, resting his head against the arm of the couch. 

“Do you need an early night?” I asked, and he nodded in response. 

“Sorry, I know you said you wanted to go out when I got back,” he yawned. 

“It’s alright. Ignis made way too much food so we can eat that,” I smiled, making it known that I wasn’t at all disappointed. “We can go out tomorrow when you’re awake enough to be good company,” I joked, and he smirked slightly in response. 

“I’m always good company,” he argued, but his exhaustion meant that he dropped the subject rather quickly, like he didn’t have the energy for joking. “I’m going to take a shower,” he continued, but he didn’t move off of the floor for a good, long minute. It probably didn’t help that I started stroking his hair slightly, which seemed to make him relax just a little bit too much. 

After a minute, he rolled onto his back to lie on the floor so that he could try and will himself up into standing back up. He did, eventually, before dragging himself over to the bathroom. He hadn’t even closed the door by the time I heard the shower turn on and the layers of his heavy clothes hitting the floor. 

If it wasn’t such an effort to get myself over there, I usually would have taken it as an invitation to join him, but it was just too difficult and there wasn’t a conceivable way that showers could be enjoyable for me. Even with Prompto. 

So instead, I just lay on the couch, enjoying the breeze from the open window, and the lights from the TV mixed in with the sound of the water falling in the shower. It was somewhat soothing. 

I was just about to slip off into what would have been a light slumber when the water stopped and I heard Prompto padding around in the bathroom. He appeared a few seconds later with a towel wrapped around his waist, cleaner than he had been before, but looking just that little bit more sleepy. 

He started digging around in one of his drawers -- out of the four that were in the dresser, he had the top two because they were easier for him to get into -- for his pyjamas. I decided to look away and pay attention to the television again, giving him a few seconds of privacy as he got dressed. 

He managed to come over to the couch once he was dressed, his hair still slightly damp and his feet barely lifting off of the floor. But he looked as if he wanted to attempt to spend some time with me before he quickly fell asleep. With a small smile, I pushed myself up slightly so that he could sit down.

He collapsed into the depths of the sofa with a groan of relief before he patted his lap again. I rested my head on his thigh, adjusting myself as much as I could to get comfortable. Once I’d managed it, he began to weave his fingers through my hair absentmindedly. 

“How was the hunt?” I asked as I eased into his touch.

“A little tough, but nothing I couldn’t handle,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice. “Though I am so glad to be home. I’ve barely slept while I’ve been away.”

“Define what you mean by ‘barely slept.’”

“I maybe got an hour or so in the car on the way back,” he groaned. 

“You should go to bed,” I said firmly as I propped myself up on my elbow. 

“I can sleep here. I just want to be with you for a little bit,” he mumbled as he patted his lap again, inviting me to lie back down. So I did. 

He wasn’t awake for that long, and he didn’t really say anything before I heard his quiet and steady breathing, signalling that he was fast asleep. But in a way, that was okay. I didn’t really need to talk to him about anything urgently, and just being by him was soothing in it’s own way. And of course the thing I took the most pleasure in that he was safe, and back home. 

So I settled my head into his lap and let myself fall in and out of sleep as I watched TV. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wah, sorry it's been so long! I was away at an anime convention last weekend and I've only just gotten home. I was so happy to see so many Prompto cosplayers there. The bonus was someone cosplaying Ignis wearing a pinny. It was great. And someone there was selling badges of Dino of all characters, haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter~


	44. Chapter 44

“I’ve got a good feeling about today!” Prompto beamed at me over breakfast on that particular morning. I looked up at him with a curious look as I chewed on my cereal, and his face was the brightest I’d seen it in a few days. 

“Any reason?” I asked, tilting my head. 

“Hm, not really. I just have a really good feeling!”

I couldn’t help myself, and I just giggled at him and his relentless optimism. I wasn’t sure how much of it was genuine and how much of it was an act, but it was still enough to make me smile at him. 

Somehow, almost too quickly to really process, another year had passed by. We’d somehow been living in the darkness of Lucis for nine years in total, and somehow we’d mostly managed to keep our sanity intact. 

I was sure that I’d changed just as much as Prompto had, but I was pretty fascinated with the small ways that he’d started to look different than before. It was only a week prior that he’d decided that he wanted to try out facial hair for the first time in his life. Much to my dismay. It was still in that stage of being horribly coarse and itchy whenever he kissed me. 

“So, what do you want to do today? We still have a few hours before your appointment,” he asked before scooping the last of his cereal into his mouth. 

“Hm,” I hummed as I thought. “You think we could go to the market? I think we’ve watched all of those movies like, ten times each and maybe there’ll be something that we don’t have there?” I half asked. 

He nodded, smiling at me. 

“Sure, that sounds doable,” he grinned. 

Our haul of movies from the market was surprisingly bountiful, and we’d barely spent anything. It seemed like old movies from before the world went dark weren’t exactly in high demand, so we were in and out rather quickly with a variety of different movies in widely different genres. They didn’t all look that good, but it was a cheap way to pass our evenings quietly. 

We decided afterwards to get something to eat from our usual place (being The Surgates Beanmine, of course) with a couple of hours to spare before yet another hour or two of physical therapy. 

“So, what do you want to talk about today?” I asked, smiling at him after we’d ordered our food. Our new pass time as we waited for our food was usually coming up with a random topic of conversation so that we could learn a little bit about one another. There was already a lot that we knew, of course. We’d been together for a long time, but there were still little bits and pieces that neither of us seemed to want to ask. And slowly we opened up about the things that made us uncomfortable. 

We’d talked about exactly where it was that he came from, and his worries about what it all really meant. We’d talked about high school, and how it had it had become somewhat of a living nightmare for me. We’d even talked about exactly what kind of person I’d turned into before I’d decided to move to Lestallum, and in turn, he’d promised to make sure that I’d never feel the kind of loneliness that left me broken again. 

But he thought for a moment on what it was that he wanted to know about before he smiled at me, telling me he’d thought of something. 

“I’m curious about your family,” he said with a nod. 

“I mean, there isn’t all that much to tell,” I sighed. “I had my parents, pretty much. I didn’t have any aunts or uncles, or any siblings. And I think my grandparents all passed away either before I was born or when I was really young. So I didn’t really have a big family.”

“Hm, I guess we’re kind of similar then,” he said, tilting his head to the side as he thought. “Though my parents weren’t my biological parents. Obviously.”

“Well, obviously. Yeah,” I snorted. He beamed at me in response before he looked eager to hear more. “Y’know, the story about my parents isn’t that interesting. They were proud of me when I got good grades, but they didn’t encourage me to pursue the things that made me happy. They actively discouraged me from singing. So I left home the day I turned 18 because I thought that I could figure out how to really make it on my own, y’know?”

He nodded in understanding, but didn’t say a word. 

“And I didn’t figure things out until I left Insomnia. And I never got famous enough for them to see me, so they could maybe be proud of me. Maybe it was kinda childish, but I didn’t want to be just like everyone else. I wanted to be special, but I ended up working in a bar,” I sighed, playing with the straw in my iced tea. “But everything had to happen the way that it did. There wasn’t really another way, I don’t think. I would have ended up in a crappy job in Insomnia, and who knows what would have happened.”

“You know what I’m going to say right?” Prompto said with a small smirk that he was trying to hide. 

“That  _ you  _ think I’m special?” 

His radiant smile was enough of an answer for me. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning at him in return. 

“That’s all that really matters, I guess,” I giggled. 

After a few seconds of giggling, he straightened up and leaned over.

“Do you ever, y’know, miss your parents?” he asked quietly. 

I thought on it for a minute. 

“Not really. It kind of bothers me that I don’t really know what happened to them, but I don’t think I miss them. Is that bad?”

“No, I don’t think so. I understand the feeling,” he said, giving my hand a reassuring pat. “I mean, I was thankful that my parents gave me somewhere to live, and they mostly left me to do whatever it was that I wanted, but I feel like I didn’t really know them, you know? They were always out, and working, and I hardly ever saw them.”

He let out a long sigh, like he was trying his best to keep himself from lamenting on a relationship that never seemed like it existed. 

“The day before I left Insomnia, I got my Crownsguard uniform,” he said, a certain tone of sadness in his voice. “I was so excited about it, so I rushed home because I wanted to show my parents. I wanted to hold it up to them and tell them that I’d done something with my life. It was like that uniform was the proof that I’d done  _ something _ . And I wanted to thank them for giving me a place to stay, and for giving me food, and for paying for my tuition fees. Because they did a lot for me. But they weren’t there.”

I pursed my lips as he talked, because I felt that in a way, I’d taken advantage of the fact that my parents were at least there. They weren’t exactly the best parents in the world, and they weren’t at all supportive. But they were  _ there _ . 

“So you never got to say goodbye to them?” I asked quietly. 

“Nope. I don’t even remember what happened the last time I saw them. They were probably just stopping by for clean sets of clothes or something else equally as dull,” he sighed. 

“At least we got to learn from them,” I half offered, and he looked at me with a frown, like he didn’t quite understand. “Maybe because we didn’t have the best family lives when we were younger, when we start a family of our own, we’ll know what makes a good parent.”

I was very much bullshitting, and trying to make him feel better. I wasn’t sure that I believed it. I knew that one day, Prompto would make an amazing father, because he had these incredible, kind qualities, and at the same time, he was quite childish himself, but in the best possible ways. I wasn’t so sure about myself. 

But Prompto grinned at me again, and nodded in agreement. 

“I’m starting to get impatient for things to get safer,” he said with a chuckle. 

“Because you want to start a family?” I asked. 

“I mean, of course. I want to know what our kids are going to be like, don’t you?” 

The way he spoke was so casual, and so hopeful that it made my heart pound in my chest, almost uncomfortably. I just grinned at him, nodding slightly. Of course, I hadn’t thought about it in the same way he had. 

“Well, one step at a time,” I smiled. “First step, taking my first step,” I continued, a joking tone in my voice. He chuckled at me again before giving my hand a tight squeeze. 

“Like I said, I’ve got a good feeling about today,” he told me with a slight wink. 

One thing that could be said about physical therapy and my injury in general was that my upper body strength was better than it ever had been. I wasn’t quite up to beating Gladio in an arm wrestling contest, but I could drag myself around a little bit at the very least. 

So on that day, I sat in my chair, with a belt around my ribs in between two bars that were there to support my weight. In front of me was a nurse, who despite looking exhausted, still managed to smile at me kindly. Behind me, with his hands rested on the handles of my wheelchair was Prompto, who I could tell was as worried and nervous as he always was when we were there. 

“Ready to try again?” the nurse asked me, and with a sigh, I nodded. 

I’d started to think that I’d never be able to walk again. It had been just a touch over two years since I’d first been injured, and the most I’d been able to do was drag my numb leg along as I hopped after the nurse. Prompto was always hopeful, and often said that he had a “good feeling about today.”

Everytime he said it, I felt like I’d let him down when at the end of the day I still hadn’t made any progress. 

“Alright,” she started as she leant forward to loop her fingers through the belt around my ribcage. “3, 2, 1…” 

With that, she hauled me up, and out of my seat for what felt like the hundredth time that day. I found my balance on my one good leg and quickly grasped at the bars beside me to steady myself. She gave me a few seconds to adjust myself before she smiled at me again. 

“No hopping this time. That’s cheating.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I joked. 

I ended up stood there for a moment, trying to remember what it was like to move my leg. I couldn’t remember ever thinking about it too much. I mean, why should I have? It was supposed to be a natural thing. 

And no matter how much I willed it to move, it didn’t. It wouldn’t. 

So I looked down at my foot in disappointment, realising that I couldn’t just wish for it to get better, and working for it didn’t seem to be the solution either. 

“C’mon,” she said, trying to will me forward. So I hopped forward on my good leg, hoping the other would follow suit. It didn’t. 

“Can I sit down? I can’t do this without cheating,” I said with my shoulders slumping forward. She let out a long breath, but nodded, releasing the belt around me so that I could lower myself back into my chair that Prompto was holding behind me. I wiped at my forehead once I was safely leaning back into the chair, ridding myself of the uncomfortable film of sweat that was clinging to my forehead. “I don’t think I can do much more today,” I admitted. 

“That’s alright. Good work today. Maybe next time we’ll get it,” the nurse tried to reassure me, but I felt like I’d heard her say that a thousand times. 

“Yeah, maybe!” I said in the most cheerful voice I could muster. I didn’t feel all that cheerful, but I supposed that it was part of my leftover life from when I worked at the bar. 

Lying down once we got back was perhaps the biggest joy I’d felt since the week previous where I’d done the exact same thing. I buried my face in the crook of my elbow and let out a long, loud sigh. 

“Say, Prompto,” I started, not really able to look at him. I felt his weight sink down on the mattress beside me. “You know if I don’t manage to walk again, are you still going to love me?”

I heard him chuckle beside me slightly as he lay down next to me. 

It was a normal question that I asked on what felt like a weekly basis after I felt like nothing had improved. 

“Obviously,” he chuckled as he nudged my elbow slightly. “But that doesn’t mean you get to give up.”

“I’m not giving up,” I sniffed, moving my elbow to look at him. “It’s just hard.”

He curled up next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in just a little bit closer. He lingered for just a few moments, placing a few kisses on my shoulder that were just a little too coarse from his growing facial hair. 

“You want to do your exercises?” he mumbled. “I had something planned for us to do later, so we should get them out of the way now.”

“I’m so tired,” I whined. “And we just got back.”

“C’mon,” he said, trying to be encouraging as he shifted himself off of the bed to kneel on the floor beside me. I made another sound of objection as he took my foot in his hand and placed his hand on my thigh as he usually did. 

He was doing the best thing for me, I knew that. So I sat up, although I still let out a lengthy sigh at the prospect, and looked down at him. 

“You want to tell me what we have planned for later then?” I asked as he adjusted himself on the floor to get comfortable. Before he responded, he’d started straightening out my leg and bending it back towards its normal position in these painfully slow movements. 

“Hmm,” he considered. “I could surprise you.” 

“You’re no fun,” I pouted. “I just wanted something to look forward to later.”

“You’re spending time with me,” he grinned. “That should be enough to look forward to.”

“But I’m spending time with you now,” I pointed out. 

“But there won’t be exercises involved. And dessert might be,” he said with a smirk, giving me a hint of what the night had in store for us. 

“Oh, you do spoil me,” I giggled, reaching over to stroke his hair slightly. He was still smirking as if he was proud of himself. 

That was when it happened. It was so surprising that I yelped slightly as Prompto froze. Sure enough, suddenly and out of nowhere, my foot twitched. It was of it’s own volition, but it was the first time in years that it had done  _ anything _ . 

I was completely stunned as I looked at it. It was like a million different feelings had rushed through me at once. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me and I was just trying to remember how to breathe. It was overwhelming. That was the only way I could describe it.

After a second or two, he turned to me with his mouth agape. But even so, I could see that the corners of his mouth were making what would end up being a brilliant, radiant grin. 

He lifted my leg up slightly so that the heel of my foot was resting in the palm of his hand, and ever so gently, he began to tap his other hand on my thigh. 

“Try and do it again,” he said, his voice encouraging. His eyes were now firmly fixed on my foot.

So I tried. I tried harder than I ever had before to make something happen. To make anything happen. And sure enough, eventually, my toes twitched just slightly. It felt so strange. It felt like my muscles had been cramped up for years and I’d never noticed. It was actually quite painful. 

And although it did hurt, when I saw Prompto’s face, it was like it didn’t really matter.

His face looked brighter than I’d ever seen it as he grinned at me, and I could see these tears glinting in the corners of his eyes where they’d started to collect. He looked happier than I’d ever known him, and that was saying something considering he usually carried himself with optimism and his carefree attitude. 

He carefully put my foot down so that it was dangling over the edge of the bed, and he quickly picked himself up so that he could place both of his hands on either side of my face and pull me towards him slightly. I thought at first that he was going to kiss me, but instead, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against my own. 

He didn’t say anything for a little while. I wondered if he felt the same as I did, where I couldn’t think of anything to say at all. I always thought that I’d have something at least a little poignant to say. Failing that, maybe I’d have something sassy in the back of my mind. Instead, I couldn’t find the words to say. 

But after a little while, Prompto finally found something to say. 

He sniffed a little, opening his eyes that were still glassy, and fragile looking, but he was still smiling. 

“I told you I had a good feeling about today,” he finally said in a whisper. 

I laughed slightly at him before he clambered onto the bed beside me so that he could envelope me in a tight hug. We didn’t talk, we just held each other, trying to figure out what exactly it all seemed to mean. 

Of course, my foot twitching didn’t mean that I was ready to skip down the streets of Lestallum as we made our way to dinner that evening. I was very much still in my wheelchair, but for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel like I hated it. It didn’t feel like it was permanent, but that eventually I’d be able to leave the house without it. 

I didn’t know where we were going, but I was quite content to let Prompto take me wherever it was that he had in mind. Over the years, we’d learnt to maneuver the chair down the stairs with just Prompto. It was becoming more and more rare that we’d see anyone else that we really knew. 

Of course, from time to time, Prompto would run into hunters that he knew, but they weren’t the same as Ignis, or Gladio, or Iris. For the most part, we really were apart from everyone else because they were so busy doing their jobs. It was a lonely feeling, really. 

After a little while of wandering down the streets, I eventually figured out exactly where it was that he was taking me. I turned to him, looking at him with a raised, curious eyebrow, but he seemed rather oblivious to it. He still looked as if he was on cloud nine. 

It was only a minute or two later that we ended up outside of the bar. The bar that I’d spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours of my life working in. I hadn’t been there in a long time, and I felt rather… sad looking at it. It just reminded me of how things were before. I thought of working alongside my best friend, singing songs for drunken customers, and making cocktails for some of my closest friends. 

What I felt didn’t really make me feel bad, per se. I felt sad, and nostalgic, and all sorts of things that I usually associated with negative and frustrating feelings. But on that day, for some reason, it felt somewhat therapeutic. 

I turned to look at Prompto again, and he gave me a knowing look that was just edging on slightly smug. It gave me the impression that he was planning… something. I just wasn’t quite sure what.

Prompto, for some reason, had brought me to the bar for dinner. We ended up with one of the tables closer to the bar itself, which made me feel nostalgic because it just so happened to be one of the tables that I used to keep my eye on when I worked there. 

And being there was strange because I didn’t recognise anyone that worked there, really. At least I didn’t know them by name. I didn’t see the boss mulling around the bar like he used to when he’d grown tired of sitting in his office, either. It really did feel strange. 

I wanted to ask why he’d brought me there, like it was supposed to be some kind of occasion, but I suppose there didn’t really be a reason. He just wanted to treat me, I thought. It made me feel guilty in a way. Prompto always went out of his way to make sure I was happy, but there was little I could do on my own to make sure he was as happy as he could be. 

While we sat there, quietly listening to the music that seemed to flow through the bar, I made a mental note that as soon as I was able to, I’d take him to see the chocobos again. 

We ordered our food, and our drinks, and as soon as that was done, Prompto began to act very strangely. In a way, it was like he’d regressed a little into his old self. He seemed nervous. It was actually quite cute in a way to watch him fumbling with his cutlery, like it was never quite in the right place on the table. 

But from there, he went to clumsily knocking things over on the table. It didn’t quite end at the salt shaker that sat in the middle of the table. He managed to somehow go out of his way to knock his drink over as he reached over the table for one of the paper napkins. 

As he did, he panicked a little as he threw as many of the napkins on the offending pool of fruit cider as he could to try and stop it from getting anywhere it wasn’t already. 

After one of the waitresses came over to clear the now empty glass and wipe the table down, he settled into his chair and let out this long, sad sigh.

“You okay, sunshine?” I asked as I leaned forward, making sure that he could hear me. 

“Huh? Oh. Y-yeah. I’m good. You okay?” 

He’d managed to stutter through his response, but I wasn’t entirely convinced that he really was okay. 

“I’m good. Thanks for bringing me here, by the way. It’s kinda nice. Though it still looks the same. You’d think the boss would have given it a coat of paint or two by now,” I said as I looked around the room, trying to ease whatever tension he felt. 

He giggled a little, nodding slightly. 

“Still looks the same as it did when you first started working here,” he smiled, relaxing into his chair a little more. 

“It doesn’t really feel the same, though,” I pointed out with a sigh.

“Sorry, should I not have brought you here?” he asked, reaching over to rest his hand on my own. It seemed like the mere thought of me not enjoying myself was enough to bring his mood right down.

I gave him a reassuring smile, and shook my head. 

“I’m glad you did,” I told him. 

“Well then, I’m glad that you’re glad,” he grinned. With his good mood saved, he let go of my hand and slumped back into his seat. “I think I’m just gonna sit away from the things that I could knock over.”

I giggled at him slightly as he looked at his hands. He still looked as if he was feeling shy, and almost scared. It was definitely odd, but I decided that me questioning if he was okay wasn’t going to do anyone any good. So instead, I managed to stretch my arm far enough so that I could place my hand on his knee. 

He smiled at me, placing his hand over mine again and giving it a gentle squeeze. I could have sworn that his hands were shaking way more than I’d ever known them to. 

After the incident with the fruit cider, Prompto had been extra careful when his hands were above the table. He’d not quite reached the level of knocking over another drink of his, but his hands seemed a little clumsier than usual when he was cutting up the food on his plate. 

But mostly the rest of our meal went by uneventfully. We had little bits of conversation between the music that played, but none of it was really of any consequence. It was nice, and it probably would have been quite relaxing if not for how strange Prompto seemed to be acting.

Once we were outside, Prompto let out a long sigh. I wasn’t sure if it was one of relief, or if it was something else. 

“Since we’re out already, do you want to go somewhere else?” he asked quietly. 

“Sure,” I said, turning to look at him. His face was pink, stained with a light blush. “Did you have somewhere in mind?”

He nodded firmly in response, and without another word, he began to push me through the streets of Lestallum again. It felt like he had purpose, and it would have been at least a little worrying if we hadn’t had such a nice time eating dinner.

It was only a five minute walk, made just a little bit longer as we figured out the stairs as much as we could. Once I realised where we were going, I had to wonder why he was taking me there.

The stairs that lead down towards the look out were much more steep than any of the other steps in the city, so it wasn’t like it was just a nice easy stroll for him. But sure enough, he was taking me directly towards a spot that made me feel nostalgic, and almost a little mournful. 

I hadn’t been there since Amarantha’s funeral. But I remembered that it wasn’t too far from where Prompto had first asked me to be his girlfriend. It felt like the last nine years had passed by in the blink of an eye, but at the same time, so much had changed. 

I missed what life was like when I was twenty. 

I didn’t linger on the thought for that long as we eventually came to a stop at the exact spot where Prompto had first kissed me. Instead, I was now curious about why we were there. 

“So…” he started as he came to stand beside me. It was like he was trying to come up with a conversation starter for us, but he looked nervous. Again, I decided not to question it. Instead, I found myself searching for his hand as I looked over at the darkened landscape of Lucis. 

For the most part, it was like an abyss of nothingness. The one thing that made me think that there was still something there was the slight blue glint off of the disc that still sat quite proudly in the middle of the darkness. 

“You know, today is kind of a special day,” he said quietly as his hand gripped mine tightly. 

“Is it?” I asked as I thought on the date. I couldn’t think of why it was special at all. I knew it wasn’t our anniversary. That much I was sure of. 

He smiled a little bit before he nodded just once. 

“It was ten years ago today that we saw each other in Hammerhead,” he told me, his voice gentle and soft. 

“Has it really been that long already?” I questioned, trying to hold in a sigh at the thought of time escaping me so quickly. 

“Yeah, I know. It doesn’t feel like it. But I was looking at some photos the other day, and sure enough, it was ten years ago.”

“I can’t work out if it feels like a lifetime ago, or if it feels like it happened yesterday,” I said, giggling slightly. “And I can’t believe you’ve managed to put up with me for that long.”

“I should be saying that to you,” he laughed. “Though there was a long time that we were barely together, I guess. When I was in Hammerhead.”

“I’d rather think about the good times,” I sighed. “Because there have been more good times than not, I think.”

“I think so too,” he grinned. “And with the way that today’s been going, I’d say we’re in for a lot more of those times.”

“I’m not walking yet,” I said firmly, pouting at him slightly. I really, really didn’t want him to get his hopes up too high for me. 

“I think you will,” he said confidently. “But that’s not why I wanted to bring you here.”

“So you had a reason for bringing me here other than to reminisce about what things were like ten years ago?” I said, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Oh. Y-yeah.”

He took in a long breath, like he was building up to something, and then he exhaled. He pushed my chair back slightly so that he was facing me, an unsure smile on his face. 

“I love you,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “I’ve been in love with you for so long, and you know that I want to spend my life with you, don’t you?” he asked.

“I love  _ you _ ,” I grinned. “And I know that. You tell me all the time. It’d be hard not to believe you.”

“Then maybe this won’t feel like it’s out of nowhere,” he said, nodding to himself as if that was what he needed to get his courage. I tilted my head as I looked at him. He was digging through his pockets for a moment, before he frowned at himself. His movements became more and more frantic as he patted every single pocket that he had.

I’d never seen him look so heartbroken in my life. 

After he realised that he wasn’t going to find whatever it was that he was looking for, he buried his face in his hands and let out a small groan. 

“Are you okay?” I asked as I tugged on the bottom of his jacket, hoping to get his attention.

“I messed up,” he whined. 

“Was it that important?” I asked. 

He dropped his hands and gave me a very sad nod. 

“I wanted this to be perfect,” he mumbled. 

“Wanted what to be perfect?”

He frowned a little, almost like he was trying to figure out what his next course of action should have been. 

“Can you deal with suboptimal?” he asked, and I nodded, not entirely understanding what it was that he was talking about. “Okay,” he said, taking in another long breath, and exhaling again. 

His eyes were fixed on the floor as he slowly lowered himself to one knee in front of me, like he couldn’t really bring himself to look at me. Like he was genuinely afraid. 

It was only as he knelt in front of me that I realised exactly what it was that he was doing, and exactly what it was that he couldn’t find. My hand moved to cover my mouth as I looked at him, and just the thought of what he was about to say made me want to cry from the sheer happiness that was squeezing at my heart. 

“I wanted to ask you this forever ago,” he started saying, his voice wobbling slightly. “But there was just never a good time. I just don’t want to have to wait another ten years to get a chance to ask you.”

His gaze then shifted from the floor, up to me. He looked like he was on the verge of crying himself, though I had no idea if it was because he was so terrified of what I was going to say, or if it was because he felt the same way that I did. 

I gave him a nod of encouragement, desperate to hear what it was he was going to say next. 

“It doesn’t have to be right now, or even any time soon, really. But I love you, and I want us to start, y’know, living our lives together,” he said after he’d swallowed the lump that was lodged in his throat. “So.” He took my free hand in his and looked me right in the eyes, like it had taken every little part of his courage. “Will you marry me?”

I couldn’t talk. I honestly couldn’t get the words that I wanted to say out of my mouth. 

What I did manage to do was nod more enthusiastically than I ever had before. 

And immediately I burst into tears, desperately grabbing at his shoulders so that I could bring him into a hug. I was still nodding to affirm my answer as I buried my head in his shoulder, and I felt him let out a sigh of relief. 

“I love you,” I managed to croak out in between my sobs that were stifled slightly by his jacket. “I really, really love you.”

It was his turn to nod and I heard him sniffle slightly. We stayed that way for a minute or two, hugging each other tightly before I felt him tense up slightly. 

“Can you please just say yes if that’s what you want to say?” he asked quietly. “I’m terrified of misunderstanding something.”

I pushed him away, just so that his face was a few inches from mine. It can’t have been comfortable for him to be bent down like he was, but he never once complained. I brushed a few strands of hair away from his face, and smiled, despite the fact that I could still feel tears rolling down my cheeks. 

“Of course I’ll marry you,” I managed to say, although it was in a wobbly voice that sounded strained from how I was crying. 

I couldn’t work out why it was that I was crying, the more I thought on it. I put it down to being completely overwhelmed with how happy I felt. I did, truly, want to spent the rest of my life with him, and the fact that he felt the same way was just… a lot. That was the only way I could describe it. But I was happy. That much I knew. And I think he knew it too. 

His hand reached up to caress my cheek slightly, and he used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the warm tears that were staining my face. The his head dipped down to catch my lips with his own in a lingering kiss that tasted just a little bit salty from the tears. 

He pulled away, and smiled at me with that genuine, beaming smile that I’d seen a thousand times before. 

“So, who do you wanna tell first?” he grinned at me. I couldn’t help but let out a snort at his strangely abrupt question. “I think Ignis and Gladio are gonna be curious to know how it went.”

“They knew?” I asked, tilting my head. 

“Well, they helped me with picking out the ring,” he said as he stood up and shuffled from side to side a little bit. “Which I forgot to bring. Because I’m the worst boyfriend in the world.”

I couldn’t help but giggle slightly.

“Fiancé,” I corrected him. 

“Why is that the only part you’re correcting?” he pouted, and I couldn’t help but laugh at him. As soon as I started laughing, the pout dropped off of his face and he looked rather happy with himself for making me laugh. 

“I want to tell Ignis first,” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. Prompto gave me a curious look in return. “Ignis has always been around to help me out, even when you weren’t. He kinda reminds me of the good parts about having parents. Which is weird, because he’s only two years older than me, I know.”

“So do you want to go back and make some phone calls?” Prompto asked, and I nodded in return. 

He quickly pressed a kiss to the top of my head before we began to make our way back towards the steep staircase that would prove to be a challenge for sure. He stopped shortly before we tackled them, and leant forward so that he could whisper in my ear. 

“You don’t really think I’m the worst, do you?” 

I laughed just slightly before I placed a kiss on his cheek. I supposed this was still somehow one of those times where he doubted himself just that little bit too much for him to just brush it off. 

“No, I don’t, Prompto.”

“I think you mean ‘ _ Fiancé _ ,’” he grinned, and I looked at him as I tried to work out if he was joking or not. Even if it was a terrible joke, or if it was just his happiness oozing out of him in the dorkiest way possible, I didn’t really care. I was still amused by it, somehow, letting out a tiny giggle before grinning at him myself.

I loved him with every inch of my being, and that included all of his dorky quirks and all of his jokes that weren’t funny to anyone else. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I keep leaving it so long in between posting chapters. I'll try to do better as we start heading towards the end of this story. I mean, we're already heading there, I suppose. I'm happy that writing this kept me busy while I wait for the Assassin's Festival to download. My internet is too slow ;-;


	45. Chapter 45

It was a few months later that Prompto was huffing around our small apartment, throwing some of his clothes and toiletries into his duffle bag that was sat on the floor. It was still a little too early in the morning for me to want to move from my comfortable and cosy spot on the bed. 

The duvet just had a little more allure than anything else at that moment. 

I really wasn’t sure why Prompto was awake so early on that particular day. I knew that he was heading off to Hammerhead to meet up with Ignis and Gladio for some description of hunt, but he didn’t need to be there until the evening. 

“Can’t you come back to bed for a while?” I whined as he took another lump of clothes out of his drawer and messily shoved them into his bag. 

“I’d love to,” he sighed as he sat himself on the floor, trying to make just a little bit more room in his already overflowing bag. “I just need to make sure I have everything I need.”

I shuffled over slightly to reach out to him and pat him on the shoulder, half trying to entice him back into bed so that I could fall asleep in his arms like I always did, half trying to comfort him a little bit. He seemed like he was a little wound up about his upcoming job. 

“I can help you pack later. I’ll even fold your clothes so that you can fit more in there,” I offered. He chuckled slightly, looking at the mess on the floor. 

“You mean just cramming things in there isn’t optimal for saving space?” he questioned sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at me. 

“I’ll teach you all about the rolling technique,” I said, my own levels of sarcasm matching his. “It’s an old family secret that’s been passed down for generations.”

He snorted slightly before he shook his head. 

“I should at least take a shower. So it’s one less thing to do later I suppose,” he sighed, taking my hand that was on his shoulder and placing a kiss on the back of it. His well kept facial hair tickled my fingers slightly. 

“If you come out of there wearing anything other than your pyjamas, I’m going to be offended,” I told him, pouting.

“That’s what I was forgetting,” he said with a frown, turning his attention back towards the bag on the floor. 

“Prompto, sweetie. You’re wearing your pyjamas now. You can’t pack them if you’re wearing them.”

“Oh, yeah. Obviously.”

“Are you alright? You seem a bit flustered,” I pointed out. 

“Oh. I’m fine. I’m just… being me, I guess,” he said, sounding almost dejected. He looked exhausted the more I forced my eyes to focus on him. 

“You don’t want to go?” I asked. 

“No, I really don’t,” he whined. 

I knew that. Of course I knew that. He’d gone out of his way to get work as close to Lestallum as possible so that he wouldn’t be gone for that long. And even then he’d stand at the door just before he was about to leave and pout, like that would save him the effort of having to go. 

I got the feeling that Prompto really cherished having somewhere that felt like a home. 

It wasn’t just the apartment that we lived in, at least I didn’t think so. I couldn’t imagine that he was desperate to stay in such a small place that we were quickly outgrowing, that had paint peeling away from the walls and scratches and dents in the door frames from me clumsily trying to get around.

I think we’d both silently come to the conclusion that we wanted to move before we got married. 

But I think the thing that made him want to stay was the feeling that filled the apartment when we were together. 

We’d spend our mornings together in what was mostly a mundane existence. He’d always make breakfast, because we’d come to the conclusion that it was hard to fuck up toast or cereal. If he was feeling particularly adventurous, he’d have a go at making fried eggs. Or scrambled eggs. Or omelettes. Something egg based, anyway. 

We’d spend our days together having conversations about whatever it was that we could think of, though, for quite a while, we talked about what we wanted to do for our wedding. We’d come up with these ridiculous plans that were totally impossible, like getting married at the Galdin Quay, and calling the trip our honeymoon too. 

We’d spend evenings together going through cheap movies that we’d found on the market, making fun of all the plot holes and terrible acting as we cuddled up on the couch, sharing a tub of ice cream. 

But whenever he was gone because he needed to earn money, the apartment felt weirdly empty. I didn’t entirely hate it, at least for a while. I’d spend a couple of hours to myself, listening to music, or reading a book before I’d get bored and stare at the clock for a while, wondering how much longer he’d be. 

I wished I could be more independent, but I guess I just wasn’t as strong as I wanted to be.

“I’ll still be here when you get back,” I grinned at him lazily, trying to reassure him. 

“You sure you’re not going to forget about me over these next two weeks?” he asked, though I could tell there was a joking tone somewhere in his voice. 

“Hmm. Depends if you forget to text me, I guess. Like last time.”

“I didn’t forget!” he protested. 

“So you just didn’t text me?” I asked, faux hurt in my voice. 

“Okay, I thought I’d sent it. But I forgot to press the send button.”

I couldn’t stop myself from giggling at him as he blushed slightly, embarrassed by his small mistake. 

“Just don’t forget to let me know that you’re okay,” I smiled, settling back down into the pillows and closing my eyes. “That’s all I care about.”

I heard him chuckle just slightly before I felt his lips briefly brush on the side of my face. 

“Got it. I’m going to have a shower quickly, then I promise to come back to bed for a little bit,” he whispered, like he was worried that anything louder would have disturbed me. I hummed to tell him that I understood, but I didn’t do anything more. 

I heard his bare feet pad across the wooden floor towards the bathroom, leaving me to try and catch whatever sleep I could. Curiously, I didn’t hear the door close, and after a few seconds of hearing the water from the shower head, I opened one of my eyes. 

The door was mostly closed, but also left ajar just the slightest. If I’d been in more of a state to join him, I would have taken it as an invitation. But that was Prompto. Never wanting to close the door unless he absolutely had to just incase I needed anything. 

The sound of the water pouring and his quiet voice as he sang to himself were enough to lull me back into the depths of sleep, no matter how much I tried to fight it. 

I couldn’t have been asleep for more than twenty minutes before there was a weight on the mattress behind me. I made a grumble of displeasure at being woken up again far earlier than I would have liked, but it was hard to stay so grumpy when he began to pepper kisses across my bare shoulders like he always did. 

“Sorry, I was trying not to wake you up,” he whispered into the crook of my neck as he gathered me up his arms and held me tighter than he ever had before. I had to smile at the sensation, because it felt so safe and secure. 

“That’s okay,” I told him as I pressed a kiss to the back of his hand, before lacing my fingers with his. 

“I had something I wanted to ask you about,” he said as he settled down on his own side of the bed, his fingers absentmindedly playing with the ring on my own. My eyes focused on how his fingertips were running over the piece of jewellery that he’d given me a few months ago. 

I’d spent far more time than I’d care to admit admiring how beautiful it really was. It could have been the most simple and plain thing, and I wouldn’t have cared, but he’d chosen a rose gold band with a fairly large emerald cut diamond, and on either side, these smaller blue sapphires that framed the larger stone perfectly. 

He’d apparently gone to every jewellery store that remained in Lestallum to try and find the  _ perfect  _ engagement ring, and he never seemed to find it. He’d had the idea of making sure that there was some kind of blue involved on the thing, because it was still my favourite colour.

From the sounds of things, it seemed as if Ignis and Gladio were running out of patience for helping him pick it out. Then, he told me he knew someone who used to make jewellery, so Prompto found him out, somehow, and asked him to make the ring. In exchange for a fair amount of gil and a wedding invitation, anyway. Dino, I think his name was? 

Either way, I really needed to thank him some day, because the ring was absolutely perfect. 

“It sounds so ominous if you say that when you’re playing with my ring,” I joked, and he chuckled in response. 

“Nothing too ominous, I promise,” he reassured me as he buried his face into the back of my neck. His hair was still damp, and the cooling feeling was quite nice. 

“ _ Too _ ominous?” I questioned. “You’d better ask me now before you start scaring me.”

“I was just thinking, or I guess I have been for a few days now. How attached are you to staying in Lestallum?”

I pondered on it for a moment, but in the end, all I could do was shrug.

“I mean, I guess I’m not. I don’t really have anything keeping me here anymore. Well, apart from the safety and light and stuff. Like, I don’t have a job, or a group of really good friends that live here,” I said, more trying to work things out out loud. 

“How would you feel about going back to Insomnia one day?” he asked quietly, as if he wasn’t really sure about how he felt about it.

“Isn’t it mostly destroyed?” I asked.

“From what Iris told us, it seemed like it was mostly the centre of the city that fell. It seems like a lot of the houses that were further away were pretty untouched,” he sighed. “It might mean my house is still there.”

“You want to go back?” I asked, shifting so that I could turn to look at him. 

“I don’t know,” he said, pursing his lips as he thought. “I mean, if my house is still there, it’s like we get a chance to really settle down somewhere and start a family. And we don’t really have enough money to buy a house of our own right now.”

I smiled, feeling beyond happy that he’d been putting some thought into it. 

“Then, once we can go back to Insomnia, we can go there for a while. And if we hate it, then we’ll figure it out,” I told him, moving so that I could be just a little bit closer to him. “I don’t really care where we go. I feel like Insomnia would have been way more bearable with you around anyway.”

He came to rest his forehead against mine, our noses touching. 

“You never came to my house when we used to hang out after school, did you?” 

“You never invited me,” I pointed out. 

“I thought you’d say no,” he said, his eyes looking just a little more sad than usual. 

“You didn’t even give me a chance to say no,” I joked. “So you’ll never know.”

He snickered slightly, shaking his head. 

“Okay, so it might be about fifteen years too late, but I’ll totally invite you over next time,” he said with a grin, finally settling down to get some rest. It was still way too early. He closed his eyes, his fingers pulling me in as close as they could, and let out a content sigh. 

I wanted to ask him why he’d brought it up, but really, at the time I didn’t really think that it mattered. I thought that he just wanted to dream about the future for just a little bit longer before he’d be on his way to Hammerhead. 

As it turned out, Prompto knew something that I didn’t, and he didn’t want to tell me. In hindsight, I wondered if it was because he didn’t want to get my hopes up too much, or if he didn’t want me to worry more than I already did every time he left to go on a hunt. That was the reason he was acting so strangely on that particular morning. 

“Are you  _ sure  _ you’ll be okay without me?” Prompto asked me as he zipped up his bag, and began scanning the room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. 

“Yes, I’ll be fine. You’re only going to be gone for a couple of weeks at most,” I said, trying to reassure him somewhat. “I can manage. And Iris is gonna be around if I need help, so I’ll be fine.”

“As long as you’re sure,” he sighed.

“I’m at least sure that you worry about me too much,” I giggled. “I can kind of get around on my own now anyway,” I said, pointing towards the crutches that were resting against the dresser with my chin. 

It wasn’t  _ entirely  _ true. I stumbled around a lot, and fell over more times than I’d care to count, but I could at least make it around the apartment and down to the local store to buy food on my own.

“You’re right. Sorry, I bet I can be a bit much sometimes,” he said with a nervous, unsure laugh. 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I cooed, trying to relieve him of some of the tension that he clearly had pent up. He smirked a little bit before he shook his head and stood up off of the floor. 

“I’m gonna be late,” he informed me as he looked at the clock on the wall. 

Yes, he absolutely was. Us going back to sleep at such an odd hour in the morning meant that we’d overlaid by a good handful of hours and he still had a few errands to run before he left. It didn’t help that neither of us thought to set another alarm after we’d turned the first one off at some point during our slumber. 

“Then you should hurry up and go,” I smiled as I rose to my feet off of the bed. I spent a good few seconds trying to get my balance as I still couldn’t put any weight on my bad leg without it folding up and collapsing. But I was getting pretty good at balancing on my one good leg, at least. 

Prompto, of course, was quick to wrap his arms around me out of fear that I’d hurt myself. Usually it would have earned him a look that would have screamed “I can do it myself” but on that day, I was aiming to send him off with a tight hug. Once my arms slid around his neck to pull him in for a hug, he chuckled a little and adjusted his own arms so that he could pick me up off of the floor a few inches and bury his face in the crook of my neck. 

He seemed so much needier than usual. I assumed that it was because he’d be gone for longer than he had been before, but something about it still left me feeling unsettled. 

“You’re gonna be okay, right?” I found myself asking as I gently grasped a fistful of his hair, feeling sudden reluctance to let him go. 

And he didn’t answer straight away like he usually did when I got worried. Instead, he took a few seconds like he was contemplating his answer. 

“I always am, right?” he finally said in a whisper. 

“I’ll be mad if you’re lying to me,” I told him quietly. 

“I know.”

He left a few minutes later after we’d untangled our arms from one another. I felt almost mournful as I watched him walk out of the front door with his heavy bag slung over his shoulder. As always, he left saying that he loved me, and I told him that I loved him in return. But then he was gone, leaving me behind to try and work out why it was that he was acting so odd. 

It was a few days later that I finally managed to piece everything together. I’d just gotten out of the bath on that particular evening, and was stumbling over to the bed, clad in my soft pyjamas, hoping that sleep would take me as soon as I laid down. 

I flopped onto the bed, discarding my crutches on the floor with a resounding clatter as I went. I hadn’t slept well at all since Prompto had left, though, to his credit, he had been texting me as often as he could. 

I was so exhausted, though. I just wanted one night of sleeping blissfully and peacefully. 

It was as I shuffled into my position on the bed that my phone began to vibrate. I groaned slightly, but still reached over to pick it up regardless of how sleepy I felt. It wasn’t a surprise that Prompto’s name was glowing from the screen. I chuckled to myself a little as I remembered the absence of the photo from our trip to the chocobo farm. I’d lost all of my photos on the day I got myself hurt because my phone had just disappeared. 

I shook the thought off as quickly as I could, and donned my most cheerful persona as I clicked the green button on the screen. 

“Hey, sunshine,” I said, grinning to myself in the hopes that my voice would come across as at least somewhat happy. 

Usually, he’d be quick to respond, but instead on that day, there was a chuckle on the other end of the phone. It seemed familiar, and almost nostalgic, but I couldn’t quite place it. 

“Not Prompto, I’m afraid.”

That was odd. The voice didn’t belong to either Ignis, or Gladio. So why was it so familiar? 

There was a few seconds of silence before there was another laugh on the other end of the phone. 

“Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten about me after all this time,” the voice said. 

And suddenly it was like a lightbulb went off in my head, and I was wide awake.

“Noct?!” I sputtered out, sitting up straight with my eyes wide. 

“So you do remember,” he laughed. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, you sure did keep us waiting,” I managed to say, though my tone was distant, like I didn’t quite believe that he was suddenly on the other end of the phone, talking to me like nothing had changed. 

“You sound surprised,” he said in an observant manner. 

“Can you blame me? I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“Ten years, right?”

“About that, I’d say.”

“It’s really… strange. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long,” he sighed. “Anyway, that’s not what I called to talk about.”

“What? So you disappear for ten years and you don’t have enough time for a couple of minutes of pleasantries?” I huffed, and he chuckled again in response. 

“Alright then. Prompto’s already filled me in on most of the details, but how have you been?” he asked, though I wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to hear it or if he was just attempting to humour me.

“Oh, y’know. It’s been a long time so there have been ups and downs,” I told him in the most nonchalant voice I could manage. “How about you?”

“It feels like I just slept for a really long time,” he told me, laughing slightly. “There are worse things, I suppose.”

“So you’ve been having a nap for the last ten years?” I questioned. 

“That’s the long and short of it, I suppose.”

“Well, the good news is you haven’t missed anything. It’s been like one really long nighttime here. And you’re back before the sun came up, so I suppose it makes sense. In a weird way.”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess that is true.”

“What did you call to talk about, anyway?” I asked, too curious to wait much longer. “Not to try and end the conversation as quickly as possible or anything.”

He let out another laugh that sounded more humourless than anything else before he sighed. 

“Right. There were a few things I wanted to talk about to be honest,” he said before pausing for a minute, like he was trying to figure out where he should start. “I guess I should start by saying congratulations on your engagement. I’m honestly a bit surprised that you aren’t already married,” he said, like he was trying to joke just a little bit. 

“I think he wanted you to be there when we did get married,” I replied, though there was a strange feeling that was bubbling at the bottom of my stomach. 

“He did?

“Of course. You may have been gone for ten years, but you’re still important to him. You’re still his best friend, y’know?”

“Yeah,” he said, and I could tell that he was smiling. “I hadn’t looked at it that way.”

There was another pause. 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. To your wedding, that is.”

I froze as I tried to make sense of his words. 

“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously. 

“I mean… I don’t know. It’s hard to say.”

“You mean you don’t want to say?” I asked.

“Something like that.”

His voice felt empty and distant as he spoke.

“I’m not going to see you again, am I?” I asked. 

Another long pause followed.

“No,” he finally answered. 

“Oh,” was the only noise that came out of my throat. 

He let out another long breath, like he was trying to shake the mood away from himself. 

“I have to go into Insomnia. And I want to end this, so that people like you and Prompto can actually start living. I feel like I really want to protect the people of Lucis,” he explained. 

“Woah, you’re starting to sound like a king,” I commented, and he chuckled in response. 

“Surprised?”

“A little bit. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that you were sat on my couch, drinking alcohol and daring me and Prompto to kiss each other,” I joked. 

“I really did do that, didn’t I?” he laughed. “Though really, I blame you and Prompto. It was frustrating to watch the two of you.”

“I guess I should thank you, really. We probably would have been fumbling around for a lot longer if you hadn’t been the guy in the middle trying to make sure he was happy,” I smiled. “So thank you.”

“And thank you for keeping Prompto happy,” he responded. “But I have something that I need to ask you, and I don’t really know how to do it.”

“You know, you’re just as easy to read as me and Prompto were,” I sighed, knowing exactly what he was trying to get at. 

“What do you mean?”

“You want Prompto to go with you. To Insomnia. And I’m assuming Ignis and Gladio, too.”

He mumbled slightly, telling me that I was right. 

“I don’t think I could stop him, even if I wanted to. You know, we barely saw each other for five or six years because he was trying to get stronger so that he could help you when you came back. So if you want to ask me if it’s okay, then it’s okay. I don’t want his effort to be wasted.”

“You know it’s going to be really dangerous right?” he asked. 

“So what? Everything’s dangerous nowadays. Whenever he leaves Lestallum, I’m worried that he isn’t going to come back because he isn’t paying attention, or because the people he’s with aren’t paying attention. This isn’t any different. Not really.”

I heard him let out a long breath on the other end of the phone. 

“And if he doesn’t come back?”

“I don’t think about it. Because he’s always, always come back, so I have no reason to believe that he won’t come back this time,” I told him sternly, though I was lying. I always thought about what would happen if he didn’t come back.

I may have been his fiancée, b ut I knew that I couldn’t take away his chance to fulfill his duty, and more than that, help his best friend.

That probably would have been the worst, and most selfish thing that I could have done. 

“You owe me a favour, though,” I finally sniffed, trying to get rid of the lump that was in my throat. “Two, actually.”

“Why two?”

“Because those are my terms,” I told him. 

“What are they?”

“First. Please watch out for Prompto as much as you can. I’d really like us to actually get married, and have a future together, so you can call it selfish if you want, but that’s one of the things that I’d ask of you.”

“That goes without saying,” he chuckled. “But I’ll do what I can.”

“Second. Ask Gladio if you can use his phone to call Iris. I think she’d really like to hear from you.”

“You want me to call Iris?”

“I do.”

“Alright. I suppose it’s the least I can do. Plus she sounds like kind of a badass now, so I really should call her to ask how that happened,” he joked. “Is that all you want from me?”

“No. Not really. I want to tell you to come back safely so that we can hang out again, and eat hot pot, and play truth or dare and pretend that nothing ever changed. But I think that might be an impossible favour, right?”

“Right,” he replied, a slight wobble to his voice. “Though, I’d like it if you could remember those times more than you remember this phone call.”

“I haven’t forgotten about it yet,” I said, trying to reassure him. 

“I should give the phone to Prompto before I get, y’know,  _ too  _ emotional. But I wanted to say thank you again. Because I never really thanked you for treating me like a normal person. I remembered thinking that in school. You never showed a bit of interest in me when your friends did. It’s weird, but I think if we’d had the chance, we would have been really close friends,” he told me. “Weird, right?”

“Yeah. Totally weird. Cause I think the same thing. I wish we’d had the chance for that to happen,” I agreed. By that point, I was rolling my eyes back to look at the ceiling so that I could keep the tears that were building in my eyes at bay for just a little bit longer. “And I should thank you. Prompto really believes that you can somehow fix all of this, and he’s made me believe it too. So thank you for trying at the very least. And if it works, then a lot of people owe you their lives.”

“As long as people can live without worrying about the daemons, and live without being cramped into a city, then that’s all I need,” he told me, exuding this aura that served to remind me that he really had been a prince all along. 

It was strange really. This whole phone call was bizarre, and none of it really felt real. 

“That was all I really had to say. And I’d like it if you can look after Prompto if he comes home,” he told me, and I could tell that he was smiling.

“When he comes home,” I corrected him, and he chuckled. 

“Yeah, you’re right. When he comes home.”

There was a moment where neither of us really said anything. It seemed that neither of us were particularly good at saying our final farewells. I didn’t really understand how he could be so sure of what was going to happen, but I didn’t question it, and I didn’t know how to console him if that was what he needed. I wasn’t close to him by any measure, but I did genuinely believe that we were friends. 

“So,” I finally said, not sure what else there was to say. “Thank you for getting in touch. It was actually really nice to hear from you.”

“Thanks for giving me the time,” he replied. “I should put Prompto on the phone. If there’s anything you want to tell him, be sure to do it now. Okay?”

His words were enough to make the reality of the situation hit me like a tonne of bricks. 

“I feel like there are a million things I could say,” I sighed. 

“Take your time. We’re going to camp outside Insomnia tonight, so we have some time.”

“Just like old times, huh?”

“Yeah, it feels like it. Oh, one more thing,” he said. “I haven’t… told Prompto yet. About what’s going to happen.”

He was talking in such vague terms and it somewhat confused me. But overall, I think I understood. 

“Are you going to tell him?” I asked. 

“I am. I don’t know how, but please, let me do it.”

“Alright,” I sighed. “Y’know, I’m pretty terrible at goodbyes.”

“So am I,” he chuckled. “But I do really hope that you and Prompto get your happy ending. I like to think that I’ll be able to see you get married from… wherever it is that I’m going.”

“I’ll make sure to save you a seat, then,” I joked. 

“You’d better,” he laughed. “Anyway. I think I’ve said everything I need to say. So I’m going to find Prompto.”

“Alright,” I said, nodding to myself, trying to compose myself. I’d been unable to stop a few tears from falling down my cheeks, and I didn’t want Prompto to catch on to why I was upset. “Goodbye, Noctis,” I finally said.

“It’s Noct, remember? My friends can call me Noct,” he reminded me. 

“Right. I’m sorry,” I giggled. “Goodbye  _ Noct _ .”

“Goodbye, Rena,” he chuckled, and then the sound of his breathing was gone as he took the phone away from his ear. 

It took about half a minute before I heard rustling on the other end, and I was greeted by the warm voice that I’d missed over the last few days. 

“Hey,” Prompto said, an edge of happiness in his voice. He must have been thrilled, really, to have his best friend back after all these years. 

“Hey, Sunshine,” I grinned, again, trying to make my voice sound cheerful. “How are you?”

“Hmm, I’m talking to the love of my life, and my best friend is back. I’d say I’m pretty great,” he laughed, and it seemed like for that night, at least, he’d forgotten about how difficult the last ten years had really been. “I’m focusing on the positives for now.”

“Because you’re going back to Insomnia tomorrow?”

He sighed a little before he hummed in agreement.

“Yeah. And I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” he told me, the happiness fading from his voice. “Though I really don’t think this is the last time we’ll ever talk.”

“It’s not going to be goodbye,” I said sternly, though there was a tremor in my voice. “Because you’re going to help Noct bring the light back, right?”

“Right,” he agreed.

“And then you’re going to come home. And we’re going to pack up this apartment, and we’re going to move into a new home. And we’re going to get married, and start a family because that’s all we’ve talked about doing for the last two years,” I sniffled, losing my composure. 

I, of course, didn’t want to think that this was the last time I’d speak to him, but both of us were clueless about what remained of Insomnia, and what was residing there exactly. 

I was scared. Deep down, I was terrified. I would have been content to live my life out in the night that consumed Lucis if it meant that I’d get to spend it with him. Really, the sunlight didn’t mean a damned thing to me if he wasn’t there to share it with me.

But I knew that he wouldn’t have been content with that. He needed to stand beside his best friends and fight until all of this was over. He thought that’s what his duty was. So that was the way that things had to be. 

“And you have to come back because I’m going to work really hard so that I can walk down the aisle when we get married,” I managed to say before I started crying. That was when I let my fear show. 

“I can’t wait to see you on our wedding day, then,” he said, and I could tell by the quiver in his voice that he was crying too, or at least part way there. Maybe he hadn’t told me about how scared he really was. 

But I knew Prompto. I knew that after he was off of the phone, he’d compose himself before skipping over to his friends to make dumb jokes and suggest a round of King’s Knight because that’s who he was. That was who he’d always been.

“I’m not going to spend too long on the phone,” he said as he let out a long breath. “Because I’m going to see you again soon, and then we’re going to start living that future that we dreamed about. Okay?”

“Okay,” I sniffled. “Besides, you should really spend a lot of time with Noct since he’s back. And take as many photos as you can. You have to show them to me when you come back.”

“Of course I’ll take photos. I mean, I’m me,” he chuckled. 

“Hey, what does Noct look like now? Does he look the same as before?” I questioned.

“Nope, not at all. He looks more different to me than Ignis does. And Ignis looks like he’s straight out of an action movie now,” he joked. “But Noct. He looks a lot like his dad.”

I tried to recall the image of King Regis that I’d seen time and time again on television and in the newspapers. 

“Does he have a beard?” I asked, and he laughed lightly.

“Yeah. Weird, huh?”

“I can’t imagine it.”

“You’ll see him soon, so you won’t have to,” he chirped, and I felt a twinge of pain in my chest. 

“Uh, I don’t know about that. He’ll probably be way too busy to see me,” I said, laughing nervously. I was a terrible liar. “But anyway. Take photos. I want to see your selfie game at a thousand percent.”

“I’ll do my best. I mean, I have to take photos, right? This is like, history in the making. I wonder if he’d let me make a photo book or something. Y’know, as a record or something like that.”

“Ask him. I’m sure there are about a thousand photos you have of him that he’d hate everyone else to see.”

“Probably more,” he joked. “But, I should go.”

“Right, you probably should,” I sighed. I really didn’t want him to go. I wanted to savour everything about his voice for just a little bit longer. “Y’know, Noct told me that if I have anything to tell you, I should do it now.”

“I don’t know if you have any secrets left to tell me,” he chuckled. 

“I don’t. I’ve been trying to think of something profound to say, but I don’t have anything. You know everything that I could possibly say.”

“I don’t think I have anything to tell you either. Apart from that I love you, and living with you, and being close to you over these past however many years has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. So thank you for giving me a home when I really didn’t do anything to deserve it. But, I bet you knew that already,” he told me. 

“I feel the same way,” I replied, smiling just a little bit through the tears. “I love you, and I’m endlessly thankful to you for everything you’ve done to help me. And if you could tell Ignis and Gladio to stay safe for me, then I’d appreciate it.”

“I will,” he promised. “So then.”

“Yeah.”

“If you ever miss me, don’t forget about the scrapbook. I know we haven’t looked at it in a while, but I have a tonne of new photos for us to put in there when I get back.”

“Yeah. When you get back,” I nodded, trying to figure out if I really believed that or if I was just repeating it in the hopes that I would believe it. 

“I’ll see you in a few days. Alright?” he said, like he was trying to sound more confident than he felt. 

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Okay. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He lingered for just a few seconds, sighing on the other end of the phone like he didn’t really want to hang up before the line went dead, and I was left to mull over everything that had just happened. 

I only managed to sleep for a few hours that night. I knew I didn’t have anything to really worry about as they were planning on camping that night, but I still found myself awake at the bright and early time of 3:30am. I just couldn’t settle my mind after I woke up, no matter how long I stared at the ceiling, memorising the patterns in the paint. 

I could smell the remnants of Prompto every time I tried to burrow my head into the pillow to try and sleep, and it just made me feel… heavy, I suppose. I missed him, and I was still terrified.

I recalled what he’d told me on the phone. That if I missed him, I should look at the scrapbook that we hadn’t touched in years. We’d taken plenty of photographs, but I think that the both of us felt that looking at it might have been painful, maybe. Like we’d just be reminiscing about better times. 

And his words rolled around in my confused mind for maybe thirty minutes before I hauled myself out of bed, blindly searching for my crutches so I could carry myself over to the bookshelf where it stayed tucked away. 

I pulled it out, somewhat amazed by how thick it was. I hadn’t recalled it being so big before. But I cradled it in one of my arms without thinking too much about it before hopping back over to the bed, where I wrapped myself up in the duvet that still smelt slightly sweet and settled down into the mattress. 

I looked at the cover for a few seconds before somehow finding the courage to open the first page. I’d expected to see the photograph from when we’d first reunited in Hammerhead all those years ago, but instead, there was an envelope with my name written on the front of it. 

I frowned at it, confused, but sure enough, I knew it was Prompto’s handwriting.

I wasn’t sure that I was even supposed to find whatever it was so early, but curiosity had gotten the better of me. 

I pulled the envelope open, and peeked inside at the contents. It was a few sheets of paper that had been folded up and tucked inside. I felt dread bubbling at the bottom of my stomach, but I still took them out, and unfolded them. As soon as I started reading the words, I knew exactly what it was. 

A handwritten goodbye to me.

****

_ Hey sweetheart,  _

_ I bet you didn’t expect to find this letter from me, did you? While I want to hope that you secretly saw me hide it away, and that you’re only reading it because you got too curious, there’s a lot that I want to tell you.  _

_ It’s totally possible that if you’re reading this, I went and did something stupid that means I’m not around anymore. I really hope you’ll forgive me if that’s the case. I promise that I wasn’t planning on getting myself killed on purpose. I think really, I’m too selfish, or maybe too much of a coward for that.  _

_ There’s still so much that I want to do, and so much of that revolves around you. Around us. And I’m sure by now you’ve heard it hundreds of times, so I’ll spare you the time and I won’t tell you again.  _

_ But when I think about that future that we’ve always talked about, I know that I can help to make that a reality. We can leave Lestallum together, and travel around Lucis eating at all of the different diners, and we can go to the beach to figure out if you hate sand or not.  _

_ When I think about things like that, I feel like I can’t sit still and just wait for Noct to fix things. I have to help him, and it isn’t just for you. It’s for me, too. So I don’t want you to feel guilty if you ever think that I got myself killed for you, because that isn’t the case.  _

_ I really hope you don’t have to read this, because I realise that what I’m saying is really confusing and kinda weird. But I’ve never really been great at words, so this is about the best I can do. Sorry.  _

_ There was something really, really important that I wanted to remind you of though.  _

_ I love you. Like, I really, really love you. I can’t imagine being with anyone else but you.  _

_ Sometimes I’ll think about how I nearly lost you for good, and it scares me, because I don’t think I ever really would have known what it was like to be so happy. I feel like living with you over the last couple of years really made me mature a little bit, and made me appreciate the good things that were left in the world.  _

_ And I got to live with my best friend, so it was always a lot of fun, even on the worst days.  _

_ But there’s just one thing that I want you to do for me if I’m not around anymore. _

_ I want you to go to Galdin Quay, and visit all of the diners around Lucis. I want you to travel around like I did, and see everything in the world that makes it awesome, and worth saving. And I want you to think of me while you do.  _

_ But then, when you’ve done that, you can forget about me if that makes things easier. You can be angry at me for disappearing, you can hate me all you want if that’s what helps you.  _

_ And then I want you to fall in love again, but I don’t want you to settle for just anyone.  _

_ I want you to find someone who makes you smile, and who gives you butterflies when you talk to them. I want you to find someone who treats you like you’re the most precious thing in Eos. I want you to find someone who loves you almost as much as I do. (Almost, because there’s not a person alive who could love you the same as me. It’s impossible. That’s just a fact, I’m afraid.) _

_ Though really, I hope that you don’t hate me, and you don’t forget about me. _

_ You know, you always told me that you saw me as your sunshine. Like I was this bright, and warm person in your life that always made you feel happy. _

_ And I’ve always thought that you’re a little bit like that for me. I guess I’d liken you more to the moonlight, though. Cause you were this guiding light for me over the last ten years. You soothed me when I thought I couldn’t be soothed. You were always gentle, and caring, even when I didn’t deserve it.  _

_ I thought it was kinda cheesy to start calling you ‘moonlight’ though, so I didn’t.  _

_ I think you’re going to wake up soon, so I need to stop writing and hide this away for a while. And I’m pretty terrible at goodbyes, so I don’t really know how I should end this.  _

_ Hey! How about this? If you ever get a pet chocobo, name it after me, alright? That would make me really happy. _

_ I hope that made you smile a little.  _

_ I love you, and I hope you remember that. _

_ Prompto _

_ PS: If we really can’t get married in this lifetime, I hope that you’ll consider it in the afterlife. Think about it, alright? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably the longest chapter yet. And it was so draining to write. I feel like I'm reliving the last parts of the game again and I just can't. I'm still not over it ;-;


	46. Chapter 46

At first, after reading his letter, I felt angry. I felt such an intense rage that I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to destroy everything that he’d ever given me, like that would help me feel better. I thought it was only fair, because he seemed dead set on getting himself killed, and leaving me behind with no one, and nothing. 

I didn’t want to look at that stupid fucking scrapbook, and see his carefree grin from ten years ago. So I lifted the book off of my lap and threw it to the floor, not caring about the noise I was making so early in the morning.

It slammed on the floor with a resounding thud, and what looked like hundreds of photos that hadn’t been stuck in properly spilled out onto the wooden floor. I glared at them, like they’d offended me.

And then I caught the sight of a photo from the night we’d gotten engaged. He still had that grin on his face that I really didn’t want to see at that point. And there I was, next to him, beaming towards him, completely unaware of what was going to happen, eventually. When I saw him, the anger quickly subsided, and instead I felt devastated, heartbroken, and a sadness that was stronger than anything that I’d known.

I was hit with the sudden realisation that Prompto had wrapped things up in such a way so that he could die without regrets, and that he was prepared to die if that’s what he needed to do.

I burst into tears, not holding anything back. I let myself sob, and bawl and scream into the pillow until I just couldn’t do it anymore. It wasn’t just this sense of grief I felt towards Prompto, who as far as I knew, was still alive and well. I cried for my friends.

I cried for Noct, who I wished I’d gotten to know. I cried for Gladio, who despite being boisterous and loud, had always been there if I needed him. I cried for Ignis, who I’d cooked meals with, and laughed with.

I was exhausted, and my eyes were sore, and my chest still hurt.

Eventually, after I’d at least somewhat settled down, I grabbed my phone from my bedside table, aggressively wiping at the tears that were still bubbling in my eyes. And I began to type a message to Prompto, my fingers tapping on the screen with more vigour than ever before.

_If you don’t come back, I won’t forgive you._

That was all the message said. And he never responded. He didn’t really need to. I just needed to believe that he’d read it, and that he knew I was serious.

With that, I lay back on the bed, looking at the ceiling that would keep me company for the next few hours as I let the worry and regret and sadness take over me.

It was the next evening that I decided I had to get out of the apartment.

I’d started to scratch at patches of my skin until they were sore and bleeding slightly because I wanted to feel anything other than worry and sadness. And it hurt. But it didn’t make me feel any better. It anything, it made me feel worse.

So I got dressed, and grabbed my crutches off of the floor before I hobbled out of the door, leaving the scrapbook on the floor, and not even bothering to take my phone with me. The only thing I really needed was a handful of gil and my keys, so that’s all I took with me.

It was still at that point in the evening where people were mulling around the streets, laughing as if they were completely carefree and talking about where they were going to eat that evening.

None of them had a clue about what was happening; that Noct and his companions were in Insomnia trying to change the world for them.

That I might lose my fiancé for them to have their damned light back.

It was stupid to feel angry towards these strangers that had been struggling to live as much as I had over the past ten years. But I still did. I even knew it was unreasonable as I glared at them from my puffy eyes.

I thought that it was reasonable for me to buy a packet of cigarettes because that was the only way I really knew how to deal with negative emotions. They just helped to soothe my brain just a little bit, and I was desperate for any kind of relief.

So that’s what I did. I bought a packet of my usual brand, which I knew I couldn’t really afford, but I didn’t care.

I’ll quit again if everything works out, I told myself as I continued to hop around the streets on my crutches, not really all that sure of where I was going. I just wanted to sit down and chain smoke until I felt better. And all of this emotion was just built up on the potential of what might happen.

I dreaded to think what I’d turn into if he didn’t come back.

After a long while of stumbling around in the darkness of Lestallum, I somehow found myself in a familiar place. The bench near the spot where Prompto had kissed me for the first time, and the place where he’d proposed to me. It was the only place that was devoid of people, and alone was what I wanted to be at that very moment.

It was as I lit my first cigarette, and drew back on it, inhaling as deeply as I could that I heard something that almost made me flinch.

“Rena!”

It was a cheerful voice that I recognised. I turned around, donning what must have been a look of complete exasperation to see Iris bounding towards me, a skip in her step. As she saw my face, she stopped short, frowning at me.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.

“No, I’m not,” I told her honestly. I think she would have been able to tell just from the look of me.

“What’s wrong?” she asked carefully as she sat down next to me. She looked like she wanted to pat me on the back in an attempt to comfort me, but she looked conflicted, like she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not.

“Prompto left me a stupid letter,” I spat out without even thinking. “So he’s all ready to get himself killed, and I’m scared about what’s going to happen.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” she questioned.

“It said that if he dies, he wants me to move on and be happy again. It was a nice sentiment, but I wish I’d never found the fucking thing,” I said in one long breath before focusing on my cigarette again.

“Well, he didn’t say he was going to die for sure, did he?”

“No,” I sniffed. “But I’m scared because I don’t want to move on. He’s made way too many promises to just go and get himself killed now.”

“I think he’ll be fine. Genuinely, I think he’ll be alright,” she said, trying to reassure me. “Maybe it’s just one of those things that I feel like I have to believe, because he’s alongside my brother. And Noct, too.”

“Did he call you too?” I asked, trying to pass it off like I genuinely didn’t know.

“He told me that you said he should call me,” she giggled. “Thank you for that. I think when I see him again, I’m really gonna tell him how I feel,” she mused as she looked up at the sky.

I felt my heart sink. He hadn’t told her. And I didn’t have the first clue on how to break the news to her.

“R-right,” I stuttered.

So I didn’t. I couldn’t.

“Sorry, you were talking about Prompto’s letter,” she said, taking the conversation back to where it was, which I was eternally thankful for.

“There isn’t much else to talk about. I’m just… worried,” I sighed.

“I don’t think he was trying to upset you,” she told me, smiling slightly.

“I know he wasn’t. I know he was trying to help, but it’s just put all these stupid doubts in my head,” I told her, wiping at my eyes again as they were threatening to spill tears again.

It was then that I heard a chuckle from behind us that I really didn’t recognise. Both Iris and myself turned to look at the source of the voice, and stood not too far away from us was a woman I didn’t know. From the looks of things, it seemed that Iris wasn’t too familiar with her either.

She looked a little older than me, but one thing that really struck me was her long silver hair that was collected into a ponytail that had intricate braids woven into it.

“Sorry,” she said in her low voice. “I didn’t mean to intrude. You’re Prompto’s girlfriend, right? And the muscleheads sister?” she questioned.

“I’m his fiancée, actually, but I’d say you have her brother described pretty well,” I joked.

Iris jabbed her elbow into my ribs at my words, but she was still smirking at me.

“I’m Aranea. I’m familiar with them. Or I used to be, I suppose,” she explained and suddenly I felt like I recognised her a little bit.

“You were the one who saved my life,” I said, almost amazed that this stranger that I’d heard about regularly was suddenly there for no real reason.

“Ah, you remember that?” she asked.

“No. Not one bit. I don’t remember a thing about what happened then,” I sighed.

“It’s probably for the best,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and shifting her weight slightly.

“Everyone always says that,” I said in a quiet voice, looking at the cigarette in my fingers again. “Do you want to join us for a little bit?”

A look of discomfort passed her face as she thought on it, but eventually, she nodded and sat down.

“I heard a rumour. Maybe you two will know if it’s true or not,” she said as she took the weight off her feet. Still, she rested her elbows on her knees, leant forward like she wasn’t really planning on staying.

“Probably not, but I guess you can ask,” Iris said, pulling a face.

“I heard that the prince is back,” she smiled, cocking her head to one side. “Hunters were saying that they saw him in Hammerhead a day or so ago.”

“Oh. Right,” I said, pursing my lips. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be telling people that, but I guess I owe you since, y’know. You saved my life.”

She smirked, leaning back into the bench and letting out a long breath.

“So I guess he’s trying to fix all of this, huh?”

“I think so. I hope not though, in a way. Since he’s taken Prompto, Ignis and Gladio along with him,” I told her, taking in another drag of the cigarette.

“Kinda selfish, don’t you think?” she asked, and her tone didn’t tell me that she was at all amused.

“Yeah. It’s completely selfish. It’s just how I’m dealing with things, I guess.”

“Well, you’re honest, at least,” she said in a friendlier tone. “Prompto will be fine. That guy is a lot stronger than he looks. Or at least he used to be.”

“How do you know that?”

“We spent a bit of time together when we were in Niflheim a really long time ago. I sometimes have to wonder if he’s still the same as he was then,” she said, fully adjusting her posture into a more comfortable position. “You know, surely? Insecure, lacking in confidence, doesn’t think he’s capable of all that much when really he is?”

“Yeah, I guess he still is a little like that. Though to a lesser degree,” I answered. “I think the last couple of years really forced him to forget about it a little bit.”

“What happened over the last couple of years?” she asked.

In response, I pointed to my knee.

“I can’t walk all that well. I’ve only been out of my wheelchair for a few months,” I told her, and she pursed her lips like she was considering her next words.

“I guess he really needed something like that to happen before he matured,” she sighed. “Though, I’m sorry you ended up so hurt. I really thought you were going to die in the back of that car with him.”

“Well, I’m still here. For some reason. I’m not going to question it. Unless he doesn’t come back,” I said.

She chuckled slightly in response.

“I don’t think that’s what he’d want, somehow.”

“Well, he wouldn’t be around to tell me otherwise,” I retorted. Somehow, joking about the entire situation made me feel at least a little bit better.

“Fair point.”

Iris, during this conversation, had pulled out her phone to check the time. She yawned slightly, but she didn’t stand up to move. Instead, she settled down into the bench.

“It’s late,” she pointed out. “I’m torn on if I should get some sleep or not.”

“I think I’m going to be staying here. I can’t sleep, knowing that they’re in Insomnia right now,” I told her, flicking away the end of my cigarette.

“You look exhausted though,” Iris said carefully, like she didn’t want me to be too offended by her words.

“I mean, I’ve tried sleeping, but I just can’t be inside right now. It’s just a little much for me right now,” I explained, and she nodded, like she understood.

“Then, if it’s alright with you, I’ll keep you company tonight. Cause I don’t think I can sleep either.”

“Secretly worried about Gladio?” I joked, and she elbowed me again.

“Shut up.”

“I suppose I might stay for a little while, too. If that’s alright,” Aranea said, though she gave off this air of nonchalance that I envied. “I don’t really have anything else to do, and I’m curious about how this’ll all turn out.”

“You don’t have anyone you’re worried about?” Iris asked, and in response, Aranea let out a long, wispy sigh.

“All four of them,” she answered, leaning forward again to cradle her head in the palms of her hands. “Though if they ask, I never said that.”

The night began to pass by slowly. Painfully slowly, in fact.

No matter how much the three of us talked, it seemed like only minutes had passed. No matter how many cigarettes I smoked in an attempt to calm myself, it was like time didn’t move.

Lestallum, eventually, became still, and quiet. The quiet hum of the thousands of people that lived here eventually died down, but it was still dark. And very early in the morning.

But we still talked, making conversation to fill in the hours, somehow.

Aranea told me about her time with Prompto when they were in Niflheim. The way that she talked made him sound like a real battle hardened soldier, but that wasn’t at all like the Prompto I knew. I think he’d gone out of his way not to show me that side of him. There was never any need to, really.

But strangely, her tale of them infiltrating a magitek production facility to take down what she described as some kind of super weapon made me think that if he was that impressive so long ago, maybe there would be a chance of him surviving.

That, and the story was quite interesting. It almost seemed fictional in some of the absurdity that she told me.

Hours later, Iris suddenly shifted in her seat, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. Both myself, and my new found silver haired friend turned to look at her as she pulled a face, like she was in pain almost.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She sighed, and moved like she was trying to shake the feeling off, but it seemed futile.

“I don’t know,” she replied, looking increasingly more upset as time went by. “I just get the feeling that something’s wrong.”

All three of us looked towards where Insomnia would have been, though even on the brightest of days it was out of view. It was like we were searching for some kind of signal that wasn’t there. The land was still dark, and as we sat in silence, I began to hear the distant rumblings of the daemons that weren’t nesting too far from the city. It sounded like creaking iron, and it sent shivers through me.

“I’m sure if anyone’s fine, it’s Gladio,” I found myself saying, trying to comfort her.

She nodded slightly, but she didn’t look any better for my words.

“It’s not Gladio that I’m worried about,” she told me as she clutched at her shirt, right over where her heart was.

The weight of her words hit me right as she looked down. Maybe that meant that Noct…

My eyes found the horizon once again, searching for something, though I wasn’t really sure what. We’d stopped our conversations, all suddenly glaring at the land beneath us, willing something to happen.

There was nothing. Nothing but darkness.

My hope was fading quickly, and quietly, I was coming to the conclusion that maybe the world was something that couldn’t be fixed. Maybe the darkness was the natural way of things for us. Maybe we were bound by fate to live miserably with our futile desires of seeing the light one more time.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into an hour or so.

We hadn’t spoken. We were just silently praying that something might happen.

And then, something did.

The sky on the horizon, slowly, but surely, began to turn more and more pale. At first, I thought I was imagining things. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t have been.

It was only when Iris grabbed my arm and shook it slightly. Her face was telling me that she wanted to say something, but no sound came out. She was just pointing towards the horizon, her eyes welling with tears and her mouth moving like she was trying to speak.

“They did it,” I heard Aranea whisper in disbelief.

It was incredibly early in the morning when, after ten years, the sun began to climb into the sky at it’s slow, agonising pace.

I couldn’t remember it being so bright. The brightness made my eyes ache, and I felt an unfamiliar warmth spread over my skin. Regardless, I couldn’t look away.

I was in awe as the sky began to become that pretty shade of blue that I hadn’t seen in many, many years. They’d done it. Somehow, they’d done it.

And I didn’t feel overwhelming happiness as I thought I would.

I felt like I wanted to cry, because I didn’t know a thing about where Prompto was. Or Ignis or Gladio.

And I knew that Noctis was dead.

After a few minutes of our first glimpse of the sunlight, I shook my head, trying to shake the dumb look off of my face.

“I need to go to Insomnia,” I said, my voice croaking. “I need to find him.”

“I’m going with you,” Iris told me without a moment's hesitation.

Aranea sighed before she hauled herself up.

“I can’t really let the two of you go on your own since neither of you have slept,” she told us, though really I could tell that she was curious about what had become of them.

“We can take my truck,” Iris said sternly before she began to march off towards the car park without a moment to spare.

Aranea gave me a look, her arms folded across her chest.

“You need any help?” she asked.

I quickly shook my head, groping for my crutches before working my way up to standing a lot slower than I would have liked. She didn’t ask again, or even try to offer me help that she knew I didn’t want. Instead, she just stood and watched, and when I began to stumble towards the car park, she walked beside me at a slow pace, matching my own.

I definitely got the impression that she had an image that she wanted to keep up of being almost cold, but I think she cared more than she’d ever show.

I wasn’t sure if there was a speed limit anymore, but if there was, Iris was breaking it.

I had my hands braced on the dashboard as I was crammed in between her and Aranea. Half of me was bracing for impact, the other half was willing her to go quicker.

I don’t really think that any of us knew what to say, so we all focused on the road ahead of us, taking in the empty landscape around us that looked as if it had been abandoned by every living thing for years and years. There wasn’t a trace of the daemons that I’d seen wandering around on my trip to Hammerhead before.

It was just empty.

I really did want to appreciate it. I wanted to take in every view that I could as the land was basked in a golden glow that felt entirely unfamiliar to me. But I couldn’t.

I couldn’t be thankful for it. I couldn’t appreciate it.

Not until I knew that Prompto was okay.

Not until I saw him standing alongside Ignis and Gladio.

So we drove in an uncomfortable and tense silence, the only sound that seemed to reverberate around us was the engine of the truck as it carried us down the rough roads that looked neglected.

And soon enough, I began to recognise the places around us. I remembered the road that led us to Hammerhead from my journey in the Regalia all those years ago, with the sleeping prince on one side of me, and a cheerful, camera wielding Prompto on the other.

The road took us past Hammerhead that looked equally as empty as the landscape around us. Maybe everyone was still sleeping, completely unaware of what was happening around them, or maybe they’d already gone to Insomnia to inspect what had happened.

We kept going down the road that was leading me back to my home city. It felt like we were racing against the clock to get there as fast as possible. It made what had been a monumental hike for me out of the city ten years ago pass by in a handful of minutes.

But then, suddenly, we were forced to stop as a line of cars and trucks blocked the road. There was my answer as to where the hunters from Hammerhead had ended up. That was the only thing that made sense to me. That was the only reason there was traffic backed up a good few hundred yards away from the main gate.

With an annoyed click of her tongue, Iris pulled the truck to one side, off of the road and pulled on the handbrake.

“I’m not waiting,” she said impatiently, turning the engine off and already making a move to clamber out of the truck.

I nodded in agreement, unbuckling my seat belt and looking to Aranea who was already hopping out of the truck, leaving the door open for me to follow. I shuffled out eagerly, and without asking, she wrapped her arm around my waist to steady me slightly as I found my balance.

I gave her a nod of thanks, and she nodded in acknowledgement as she let me go, closing the door to the truck behind me.

Truthfully, the only place we really knew to go towards was the gate that lead into the capital city, so we began to weave through the cars. My pace was painfully slow, a mixture of my injury, the exhaustion that I felt, and the dread that was eating away at me.

We weren’t the only people that had given up on driving into the city by the looks of things, as most of the cars had been left abandoned, but they were clean enough to make me believe that they’d been taken care of.

The walk up to the gates was perhaps the slowest and most painful part of the journey. Iris seemed more eager to get there than I’d ever imagined. I knew that it was because she wanted to see Noct, and I still couldn’t bring myself to tell her about the last phone call I’d had with him.

I really was a terrible friend.

But eventually, after what felt like years, we were standing outside of the large gates that lead into Insomnia. I hadn’t been there in so long, and the sight of them reminded me of the determination that I felt when I’d first left there. How I was determined to make something of myself, and really, that reminded me of my shortcomings.

I hadn’t become the famous singer that I aimed to be, so that my parents could see me on the television and feel some kind of pride in me. But I was a different person, at least. I’d found out about what it was like to be really, truly and unashamedly happy. And that alone was worth the long journey I’d taken.

But in a way, it felt _so good_ to be home.

The gates to Insomnia were open, giving us a small glimpse of the husk of a city. It was a broken place, that much was clear as I took note of the half collapsed buildings and the debris that littered the street.

And there were a lot of people who were stood by the gates, peering in, but too scared to go much further. I didn’t see anyone that I recognised amongst them. I didn’t see Prompto.

With a deep breath, I began to move myself forward, towards the cluster of people that were blocking my way.

“Excuse me,” I said, loudly enough that they could hear me over their own mutterings. They looked at me, frowning, like they were waiting for me to ask them a question. They didn’t move, though. “You’re in my way,” I told them sternly.

That was enough to make them take a step or two backwards, and they never took their eyes off of me. I got the feeling that they were surprised that the one to step over the threshold of the city gates was just an ordinary civilian. One who couldn’t walk properly, but had a look of fierce determination on their face.

I hesitated for only a second to look for Iris, who was a step behind me, her eagerness turning into the same feeling of dread that I carried. She didn’t faulter though. She took in a long breath, adjusting her shoulders, and together, we took our first step into Insomnia.

“We should head towards the palace,” she told me as we began to walk.

I looked behind me to see Aranea glancing around the city like it was wholly unfamiliar to her. But she wasn’t too far behind us.

“I suppose that makes sense,” I sighed, moving alongside her as quickly as I could.

It was so odd to see all of the places that I’d remembered. It was eerie, in a way. Like all of the shops and establishments were mere ghosts of what they once were.

Yet, undoubtedly, I could recall times of walking down these very streets to get to school, or to get to the closest convenience store. It was still Insomnia. It was still the place that I used to loathe, but really, it wasn’t the city that I hated. It was myself, when I was in that part of my life.

I think a part of me had gotten distracted as I took in what the city looked like. I was fascinated with how much of it had crumbled over the years. I wondered if there was anything left that was worth risking everything for.

I wondered if my parents house was still there.

I really was distracted because I had to be the last one to register the fact that a hundred or so yards before us were three figures, dragging their feet in their exhaustion.

As soon as my eyes landed on them, I felt like I was ready to collapse as everything had caught up with me all at once.

Iris took off sprinting towards them, her heavy boots slamming on the broken tarmac below her as she desperately tried to reach them.

At the sound, the most familiar of the figures began to bound in my direction, and the best I could do was use all of my strength to hobble towards him just that little bit faster.

As he got closer, his face came into focus. He looked bruised, and burned, and broken as he desperately tried to reach me. I wished that I’d had more time to look at him, because I felt like I was brimming with pride as I saw him in the uniform of the Kingsglaive.

At the same time, though, I couldn’t feel anything other than joy as he got closer, and closer, and closer until he could wrap his arms around me and pull me towards him in the tightest hug he’d ever given me. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, and without so much as a greeting, he burst into tears.

He didn’t hold anything back as I cast off my crutches to the side so that I could hold him, and comfort him in whatever ways I could. He slowly began to pick me up, and he effortlessly adjusted me so that he could collapse on the floor, holding me tightly, and sob until he couldn’t anymore.

As I looked over Prompto’s shoulder, I could see Gladio trying to comfort his sister, and Aranea offering her condolences to Ignis. All of them, in their own ways, looked heartbroken.

I really wasn’t going to see Noct again.

I’d had enough crying for a lifetime, I felt. But still, I let the warm tears slip down my cheeks as I tried desperately to cling to Prompto. I wanted to protect him from his grief. And all I could let him do was cry into my shoulder.

It was a few hours later that the six of us were still sat outside the palace gates on the floor. All of us were clearly in different depths of mourning. We were quiet, save for the few sniffs and surprise sobs that sometimes just burst out.

Aranea was the first one to speak.

“So, what will you do now?” she asked to no one in particular.

Iris shrugged, her gaze focused on her hands that were folded in her lap. Her face was tear stained, and she looked empty.

No one else even made a move. That was, until Ignis sniffed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I think the first thing we need to do is rest,” he said, trying to find some sense in the situation. “All of us.”

It was very like Ignis to somehow catch onto how everyone else was feeling from just the atmosphere. I imagined it like he saw people in his mind in colour, and the colour depended on their feelings. I thought that all of us must have looked quite grey on that day in particular.

We all nodded in agreement. I was more than ready to find a place to put myself for a few hours so that I could pass out. I would have been content with curling up next to one of the flowerbeds that were full of dead plants and sleep there.

“I think I want to go home,” Prompto mumbled. His words caught my attention because that was the first thing he’d muttered all day. “I want to know if it’s still there.”

“I don’t know if your fiancée is much up to wandering around for much longer,” Aranea pointed out, and I shook my head.

“I can keep going,” I said, though I knew no one there believed me. My eyes felt heavy, and my muscles felt like they were lined with lead.

“Then, I’ll carry her,” Prompto said, his voice sounding determined. “If you don’t mind.”

“If that’s what you want to do, Prompto. I’ll go with you,” I told him, but I could barely keep my eyes open.

He rose to his feet, offering his hands to me. He helped to pick me up off of the floor so that I was just about balancing on my one good leg. Then he turned his back to me, and bent over slight so that I could hop onto his back. And I barely managed that.

Once I was secured on his back, he turned to look at his friends, though I could tell that there wasn’t a shred of happiness in his voice.

“Let’s meet up tomorrow afternoon. We still have homes in Lestallum to get back to,” he said before turning and beginning to walk down the street, not giving me an opportunity to ask someone to hand me my crutches.

I didn’t feel like bringing it up to Prompto at that moment in time because he still seemed lost in his own mind, and I didn’t want to burden him any more than I already had. So I stayed quiet, making a mental note to myself to borrow Prompto’s phone at some point so that I could ask someone to keep them safe for me.

The walk took around an hour in total. The further we got from the centre of the city, the less derelict it began to look. It, of course, didn’t look like the houses had been well maintained at all, but they were still standing.

“You know,” I started to say as we approached the half an hour mark of our journey. He’d been silent aside from a few sniffs and sighs, and I knew that he was going though a lot in his head.

“Hm?”

“I kinda know what you’re going through, Prompto. I lost my best friend too, remember?”

“Yeah. It really, really sucks.”

“I just want you to know that you can talk to me if you need to. I don’t really have the answers on how to make things feel better, but if you need to talk, I’ll listen.”

He chuckled slightly, though I don’t think he found anything even remotely amusing.

“I thought you were mad at me,” he stated, adjusting me so that I was a little higher up on his back.

“I was, but I’ll be mad at you later, don’t worry,” I joked, placing a kiss just behind his ear.

“What did I do wrong?” he asked.

“I found the letter.”

Just the mention of it upset me, so I tightened my grip on him and buried my face into the back of his neck, trying to keep myself composed and failing miserably.

“It was just a precaution,” he tried to reason, and I nodded, telling him that I understood.

“You’re not allowed to die. Not until after I’m dead,” I told him sternly.

He chuckled again, but this time, I felt there there was something in him that genuinely found my childish argument funny.

“How is that fair?” he asked.

“It’s not, but it’s your punishment for making me think that you were going to die,” I huffed. “You’re not allowed to do that ever again.”

“I won’t. I promise. Besides, I don’t need to be Prompto the hunter anymore. I can just be Prompto now,” he said, his voice wavering slightly. “Noct gave me that chance.”

He laughed again, though from the way his voice sounded, it was like he was trying to mask his tears.

“So I guess I owe it to him to make the most of it, right?”

“So, how do you intend to make the most of it, Prompto?” I asked.

“First, we should get married. We might not be able to afford the best of everything, and we might spend our honeymoon in a tent, but we should get married. Then, we’ll find a house if this one turns out to be destroyed, and we’ll move in to a place with more than three rooms and a closet where the washer goes. And we’ll start our own family, and we’ll tell them all about this awesome king who saved the world.”

“But what about _you_? I mean, just you. Not us.”

“Maybe I can sell my photographs?” he half asked, more like he was suggesting it than it being something he’d settled on.

“If that’s what you want to do,” I told him softly, pressing another kiss to his neck. “Though all the other stuff sounds equally as good to me.”

“I’m glad. Unless that idea sounds terrible, in which case, I don’t appreciate your sarcasm,” he mumbled.

“Not sarcasm, I promise,” I smirked, resting my head on his shoulder and giving my mind the opportunity to rest.

Eventually, we arrived outside of a house that looked completely ordinary, but by the name plate on the wall outside that read ‘Argentum’ I knew we’d reached our destination. His home seemed to live in the shadow of the wall that had once protected the city. On the outside, the paint was chipped and discoloured, and it didn’t look all that big.

But as we stood outside of the house, he let out a content sigh, like he’d been waiting to return for years and years. He’d never really voiced that he had much of an attachment to his home before. As a matter of fact, he’d told me that he often felt lonely when he lived there, always waiting for his parents to come home from business trips that always seemed to be extended.

After gazing at the building for a few seconds, one of his hands shifted from keeping me on his back to the front pocket of his trousers. Out of it, he produced a small key. He hauled me up onto his back again, trying to keep me balanced with only the one hand as he approached the door.

He turned for a moment to look behind him. He wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he was looking at the mailbox. He shook his head before slotting his key into the lock and giving it a quick turn.

The door gave no resistance as he pushed it open and stepped inside.

“I’m home,” he said quietly as he stood in the entrance way. He didn’t quite look like he was ready to venture inside, but regardless, he stepped into the house, and spun around to sit me on the edge of the genkan. After stretching out his back muscles, he closed the front door, and sat next to me.

He began to work on taking off his boots, which required him to undo many buckles and laces before he could pull them off. I felt kind of guilty for being able to kick off my shoes so easily in comparison.

It was strange that there were so many remnants of Prompto’s life just sat around for me to see. I found myself rather fixated on a pair of shoes that were neatly put to one side. They must have been his shoes from high school, because I’d seen many, many boys wear them before as part of the uniform.

I wished that I could have gone to high school with him.

Once his shoes were off, he lay back on to the wooden floor of the hallway and placed one of his forearms over his face.

“I’m so tired,” he said quietly.

“You can leave the tour for later,” I told him.

“I should at least get us to a bed, first,” he joked before hauling himself back up, though it looked like it took every ounce of his energy. “I don’t think I’m quite ready for the emotional roller coaster of looking around the house yet anyway.”

“Are you sure you wanted to come back?”

He nodded, stretching out his arms.

“It really feels like I’ve come full circle now. Like the journey really is over.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I’m still working that out.”

I think I would have felt guilty having him carry me anymore, so I used whatever strength I had to find some kind of purchase on the wall so that I could pull myself up onto my good leg, and tried to find my balance again.

He smirked, like he was happy that I was at least trying to do something on my own, but he quickly scooped me up into his arms without giving me any chance to protest. Though I don’t think I really could have complained, because as he adjusted me, I could feel his heartbeat through his thick uniform coat.

His heartbeat reminded me that he was alive.

It really felt odd. On the first day that the light came back, I’d always imagined a celebration, and I was sure that Lestallum would be making the most of the opportunity.

But I was with Prompto, sat in his old bedroom, and neither of us felt much like celebrating. Instead, I sat on his bed, and Prompto was looking around, the look on his face telling me that nothing really quite felt real to him.

He played with the buttons on his uniform, though he looked distracted as he looked at his desk with a few photos laying on top of it. They were photos from him in high school, grinning as he always did with a young prince Noctis next to him, smirking into the lens.

He sighed again, for the umpteenth time that day, before he tried to shake off whatever he was feeling. He eventually managed to undo all of the buttons before he shirked off his heavy coat onto the floor without much thought before he opened a drawer that was stuffed with t-shirts that had been unworn for years and years.

He began to dig through them, occasionally holding one up before tossing it to the side. Eventually, he pulled out a rather large, yet plain t-shirt before he turned to me.

“You can sleep in this if you want to,” he mumbled, offering it to me.

“Thanks,” I responded, taking it out of his hands, letting him stand up to close the drawer with his foot before he started to work on taking his ornately patterned shirt off.

Once that was on the floor, discarded along with the jacket, he threw himself down onto the bed next to me, and looked up at the ceiling.

“I feel so weird,” he finally told me. “Like, I feel really conflicted.”

“Talk it out if you want to,” I offered.

“I don’t know how to explain it. Like, I thought that when things were fixed that Noct would be here. I mean, I didn’t think that things would be how they used to be. I thought he’d be busy, y’know, being a king,” he sighed, trying to keep himself composed and together. “I want to be happy, but I don’t feel it right now.”

I shifted so that I could wrap my arms around his shoulders.

“While I obviously want you to be happy, no one’s asking that of you right now. It’s okay that you’re sad. It’s understandable. So if you want to cry, then it’s okay. You don’t have to hold it in,” I told him in the most soothing voice I could muster.

So that’s exactly what he did. He buried his head into my shoulder again, and cried and wailed relentlessly for what seemed like hours. He told me about how he thought he’d failed to keep his friend safe, and how he wasn’t really sure that Noct knew how important he was to him. And there wasn’t anything I could say to ease his worries, at least not at then. So I just let him cry for as long as he could, until eventually he settled down into his bed, and fell asleep.

His face was red, and his body was covered in bruises.

I wondered if a part of him had changed that day, but regardless of everything, I was so happy to have him in my arms again. And I didn’t want to let him go again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, these chapters are getting too long. I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry if I left any of you worrying for too long. I wanted to post this a few days ago but my internet's been down ;-;
> 
> But in other news, thank you so, so much for 400 kudos! I always think that I've hit my peak when it comes to getting new people along to read this (way, way too long) fanfiction, but I'm glad that people are still stumbling here somehow.
> 
> And thank you for the comments on the last chapter. I always have a lot of fun reading them. So thank you <3


	47. Chapter 47

We slept through the first day of the light being back, and through until early the next morning. By the time I woke up, Prompto was sat up beside me, fiddling with his camera. I blinked at him a few times before scooting a little closer to him.

That was enough to take his attention away from the glowing screen on the back of the camera. He looked down at me, and smiled slightly.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said quietly, moving his hand to stroke my hair gently.

I was honestly surprised that I’d managed to sleep so well and so deeply in a single bed with him. It was a tight fit for sure, but I didn’t exactly mind.

“Morning, sunshine,” I said as I wiped the sleep out of my eyes. “What time is it?”

“About five in the morning,” he answered before he shifted down the bed so that I could see the photos that he was scrolling through on his camera. “I found an old memory card.”

“Anything interesting on it?” I asked as I leaned my head forward slightly to get a better look.

He was scrolling though tens of photos of different animals. They were mostly cats and dogs, with the occasional bird in there. They looked, honestly, quite amateur. So I could tell that these photos in particular were very old.

And then, suddenly he paused on one that wasn’t of an animal.

It was a photograph of a younger me, on stage in a ridiculous outfit for our middle school’s talent show. I looked so young, and carefree in a way as I sang my heart out on that stage.

“I think it was the first time we had hot pot together. I mentioned I had photos of you from the talent show. I wondered if the memory card still worked, and by some miracle it does.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and let out a quiet giggle.

“I think I feel retrospectively embarrassed for wearing something so hideous,” I joked, and in return, he chuckled.

“You know, I thought you were really pretty when we were in the same school.”

“Even in that outfit?” I said, pointing at the camera again.

Truth be told, I’d picked out a dress that at the time, I’d thought was amazing. I hadn’t remembered the print being so garish and… _floral_ , though.

“It’s not _that_ bad,” Prompto said, like he was trying to comfort me.

“That means it’s not that good either,” I retorted, glaring at him for a few seconds before grinning at him. He shook his head, but he was still smiling a little bit. “I’m glad you kept it, though. I don’t really have any photos of me from before I left Insomnia.”

“Which reminds me. Did you want to see if your parents house was still intact?” he asked.

I really didn’t have an answer for him. I was curious about if it was still there, and if anything of mine from before I left home was salvageable. But the idea of it made me feel uncomfortable.

“How do you feel about breaking and entering?” I asked, and he chuckled.

“I mean, I never had a rebellious phase. Maybe it’s time,” he joked.

“Before that though, we still have to check to see if your house is alright. I know we’re here and it’s standing, but we literally came straight to your room.”

“I suppose I should give you the grand tour,” he smiled before he sat up and stretched out his arms. He at least seemed to feel a little better after sleeping for about fourteen hours.

Though, I imagined if he felt anything like I did after my best friend died, he’d have his ups and downs. I just had to make sure I was ready to comfort him if he needed it. And that was really all I could do.

He quickly got himself dressed before he turned to look at me again.

“Want another piggy back?” he asked with a wink.

“Yep. I can’t walk on my own still and someone was in a rush to get home so I don't have the things that y'know, help me walk,” I told him with a smirk, just to let him know that I wasn’t upset.

“Gladio text me. He said he’d bring them over for you when he wakes up,” Prompto said, pointing towards his phone that was lying next to the pillow.

“Well, I’m just glad that they’re not gone, to be honest,” I sighed as I shifted towards the edge of the bed. “So, you’d better really sell this house to me if you want to move back here.”

It took us a few minutes to get downstairs, with me needing to get dressed and Prompto trying to keep his balance as he slowly, slowly made his way down the steps. He was clumsy at the best of times, so with me clinging to his back for dear life, he really needed to make sure he was a lot more careful than usual.

But we did get there eventually, and he slid the door open to the one long room that sat downstairs. It seemed like a hefty layer of dust had settled over everything in the room, and it was really dark. The one room had a kitchen that was bigger than my own, the living room as well as a dining table that was probably far bigger than it needed to be.

I felt odd as I looked at the empty room. For a start, it was freezing. I hadn’t been that cold in a very long time. I suppose that was part of the house being unlived in for however long it was.

We’d paused in the doorway as Prompto scanned the room. I didn’t know if he was looking for something in particular, or if he was just taking in the sight of his home.

As he looked towards the kitchen, he stopped and sighed. It seemed like that was our first destination. He padded over to the fridge and stopped just in front of it. Stuck to the fridge with a magnet was a note.

_‘Going to Altissia with Noct. See you soon!’_

“Huh,” he breathed as he looked it over. “I guess they never saw it before Insomnia fell.”

“Were they away for that long usually?” I asked as he began to back away from it and head towards the couch.

“They were away all the time. I don’t know why the idea makes me feel sad. I didn’t really know them, I guess.”

“Then maybe they’re out there somewhere. And they were badass daemon hunters over the last ten years,” I suggested, and it was enough to make him burst out laughing.

“No way. If there’s one thing I do know, it’s that they were absolutely not the kind of people to hunt daemons for a living,” he laughed as he sat me down on the sofa. “I need to see if I left anything in the fridge. And I need to throw it away if I did.”

I snorted at his strange priorities when it came to coming back home, but I let him go and inspect the kitchen while I sat on the couch. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, so I began to consider what furniture I’d end up bringing from Lestallum if he really did want to move back to Insomnia.

After he’d cleaned out the fridge of what looked like it was once potentially edible, and showing me around the rest of the small house, we found ourselves back on the couch.

Considering everything, the house would have served us perfectly for at least a little while. It just needed a coat of paint and a little bit of cleaning, and it probably would have ended up being quite comfortable.

The only thing that really made me feel uncomfortable so to speak was this weird thought that I was intruding, somehow.

“So what do you think?” he asked as he relaxed into the couch cushions.

“I think the bath is really small,” I told him as I looked around the room. He let out a sigh and pursed his lips as if he was disappointed. “We can’t take baths together in something that small. That’s all.”

“Oh. Yeah, I didn’t think about that.”

“I mean, it’s fine. It means we have something to work towards, right?” I smiled, leaning against him.

“I suppose that’s true,” he said as he wrapped his arm around my waist to give me a quick squeeze. “It still feels super weird.”

“Being here?” I asked, and he nodded in response. “I imagine I’ll feel the same when I go to my parents house.”

“Is it far from here?” he asked.

“Probably about a twenty minute walk,” I answered.

“You mean we lived twenty minutes away from each other and we _never_ just happened to run into each other?”

“It does seem that way. Though I bet you spent your time after school hanging around Noct and not going home,” I said, and he winced slightly at the mention of his best friend, but he nodded. “Maybe if you were more like me and you went straight home after school we might have run into each other.”

“I doubt it, somehow.”

“So do I. Or maybe I did see you and just never figured out who you were,” I pondered.

“Nah. I absolutely would have noticed you first,” he argued, winking at me. “You want to take a walk to your house?”

I thought on it for a few seconds before I nodded in response.

“So, what are you hoping to find?” he asked me as we were half way into our walk. “Maybe there will be some photos of you as a baby.”

I sniggered at him.

It really was strange that by the time we were leaving the house, the sky was starting to get lighter. The feeling was very foreign to me.

“I don’t really know. I left home when I was eighteen with a bag full of clothes and the book that you leant me. I don’t even remember what I left behind,” I sighed. “I think I’m expecting that my stuff is either gone or in the attic. And I don’t know that I care enough to go into the attic to get it.”

He hoisted me up his back again.

“Left here,” I instructed him. “But who knows if my house is even there anymore?”

“We’ll find out soon, I suppose. Though it’ll be alright either way.”

“I know that. You’re here, so there isn’t a lot else that’s important to me.”

“You really think that?” he asked.

“Yup. Of course. If you hadn’t come back, then I wouldn’t have been alright, but you did, so I can manage if my parents house isn’t there anymore,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, I’m sure I’d be devastated that I wouldn’t get to feel nostalgic for five minutes,” I joked.

“I know what’ll make you feel nostalgic,” he said, turning to me with a grin.

“What’s that?”

“We get to go back through all the photos we have and pick some out to put on the walls. We have to add that personal touch to our new home, right?” he asked.

I giggled at him, resting my chin on his shoulder as he carried me.

“That sounds exciting. Though how many thousand photos have you taken since you first left Insomnia?”

“Probably best not to think about it.”

Eventually, we managed to find our way to the street I used to live on. We’d talked the entire time we’d been walking, but Prompto had noticed how quiet I’d become once I realised where we were.

His hands squeezed the backs of my thighs as he continued to walk slowly, like he was trying to give me some encouragement.

“It’s this one,” I told him quietly, pointing to the next house over.

He nodded, and slowed his steps until he came to a halt outside of what was once my home.

I didn’t really know how I was supposed to feel as I looked up at the familiar windows, and the weathered cladding on the building. So all of the things that I possibly could have felt coagulated into a confused mess that seemed to rest at the bottom of my heart.

“I used to walk past here on my way back from school,” Prompto told me.

“Wasn’t your school in the opposite direction?” I asked, and he chuckled in response.

“I went this way to get home from the arcade then,” he laughed.

“It really is absurd that we never bumped into each other,” I sighed. “Anyway, no time like the present I suppose. Let’s get this over with.”

“Are you okay?”

“Mhmm.”

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, you know?”

“I know.”

“Just let me know if you want to go back, alright?”

“Yeah, I will.”

With that, he began to walk down the path towards the front door that was just slightly ajar. He gently pushed it back with his foot and waited for a moment as he peered inside, almost as if he was anticipating someone being there. He stayed quiet for a moment as if he was listening very carefully for something.

A few seconds passed by before he carefully took a step inside. He moved quietly, and cautiously. He seemed like he was a little on edge, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he’d never stepped foot in my parents house before or if he was nervous about something else.

I didn’t want to say anything just incase he really was listening out for anything unusual, so instead I gave his shoulder a squeeze.

He ignored the genkan by the door, and stepped onto the wooden floorboards in his boots. I tried not to let it bother me too much, but I remembered how strict my parents were about taking my shoes off at the door.

But it didn’t really matter anymore. The floor was stained with dirt that looked like it had somehow travelled in over the years. It wasn’t like wearing shoes in the house was a big deal anymore.

Prompto began to lower himself down a little bit to let me down so that I could lean against the wall. He then turned to look at me, pressing a small kiss to my cheek and giving me a small smile.

“Wait here for a second, okay? I’m just going to have a look around incase there’s anything dangerous here, alright?” he whispered.

He didn’t wait for my answer, but instead spun around on his heel and walked away faster than I could keep up with.

For a moment he held up his hand, and it suddenly reminded me of the night we’d stayed in the motel in Old Lestallum, and he’d jumped out of bed after I’d woken up from my nightmare, summoning a gun from the air around him.

But this time, nothing happened.

He looked at his hand, and sighed.

Regardless, he began to search through the rooms as quietly as he could, which left me in the hallway next to the phone and with a little while to gather my bearings.

The hallway was nothing special. The walls had once been a light cream colour, but they’d yellowed over the years, and my parents had never really been the kinds of people that enjoyed having lots of paintings and photos on the walls.

They were very minimalist when it came to their lifestyle, and it was no surprise to me that it hadn’t changed. I sighed quietly as I leant all of my weight on the wall, my eyes drifting slightly to catch the open book on the table next to the phone.

At first I didn’t really realise when it was as I narrowed my eyes towards it, trying to distinguish what the words on the paper said. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out if I’d misread something or not, but sure enough, I wasn’t wrong.

My name in my mother’s very familiar handwriting was on the open page, along with a phone number that I’d not had since I’d left Insomnia. I plucked the book up as quickly as I could to bring it closer to my face, just to check that was really what I was seeing.

Had they tried to call me while the city was falling?

I slid down the wall, suddenly feeling very heavy. Yet I kept looking at the name and the number in front of me, trying to figure out if that was what had happened, or if maybe I just felt hopeful that they’d cared.

It wasn’t too much longer before Prompto’s footsteps were louder again as they got closer and closer towards me. The door to the living room and kitchen slid open to reveal a much more relaxed looking Prompto, who then looked at me in concern as I sat on the floor.

“Hey,” he said quietly as he approached me, and crouched down beside me. “You okay?”

I wasn’t really sure how to answer him, so instead I showed him the phone book that was in my hands. He took it out of my fingers and frowned at it as if he was trying to figure out what it all meant.

“I think they tried to call me before they left,” I told him, and I could see his shoulders sink as he let out a long breath.

“Oh,” was all that he said for a while as he studied the writing on the page. He looked around for a moment before he found a pen that was sat on the side, next to where the book was. “Why don’t you write down your number just incase they come back?”

“Where would they have gone to in the first place?” I asked quietly.

“Lestallum’s a big place, you know? Besides, it looks like they were really in a hurry to get out of here.”

I really didn’t believe that they were still alive, but I took the pen out of his fingers and he placed the book on my lap.

Next to my name, there was a blank space that was big enough for me to write something. I figured that I could have just left my number, and hoped that one day they’d call me in the future.

But once I’d started writing, I felt like I just wanted to leave them a message, maybe to make myself feel better more than anything else.

_‘Hey Mom and Dad. I hope you see this one day, but it’s been twelve years since we last saw each other. I was hoping that one day I could make you proud of me, but I guess I never did get that far. But I’m alive, and I’ve been living in Lestallum for over ten years now. I have a fiancé. His name is Prompto. I think you’d really like him. I left my number so you can call me if you ever come back to Insomnia. I hope I hear from you one day. Rena.’_

I puffed up my cheeks as I clicked the lid back on the pen before I let out a long sigh. I slid the book back on to the table beside me before Prompto offered a hand to me to help me up.

Once I was up, and leaning most of my weight onto him, he smiled at me, and gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head.

We first made our way to the room that Prompto had just inspected, and it was obvious that something had happened in the past. My parents were very particular about how things were kept. They were neat. Very neat.

But there were things scattered everywhere around the living room, a few broken dishes in the kitchen and drawers left open all over the place. Everything seemed to be coated in a thick layer of dust and dirt, and even the air felt like it was thicker. I bit my lip as I surveyed the room, hoping that they’d managed to get somewhere safe. It was freezing. I couldn’t recall a time that I’d felt so cold in my life.

“This feels weird and I really don’t like it,” I mumbled, leaning my head on his shoulder.

“Do you want to go?” he asked, and I shrugged. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. At all. “Do you wanna check to see if we can find any of your stuff and then we’ll go?”

“Yeah,” I managed to breathe out. “Besides I’m kind of hungry,” I continued, trying to take my mind off of the weird feeling that had settled over me.

“We could probably figure out something to eat. Probably,” he smiled as he lead me back out of the room, and towards the staircase.

He held me tightly around my waist I struggled to limp up the stairs. He was patient, and didn’t utter a single complaint as we took our time to get to the landing. All of the doors that lead into the bathroom and two of the bedrooms were wide open, save for the door to what was once my room.

I let out a small sigh as we arrived outside of it. Cautiously, I let my hand find the handle and push the door open.

I wasn’t sure what I expected to see, but I knew that it was the opposite of what was left before me.

My room was almost exactly as I remembered it. Almost, aside from the fact that it had been tidied up at some point.

My bed still had my pastel paisley print sheets, my certificates from the various talent shows that I hadn’t quite won were still on the wall, and my keyboard was exactly where I’d left it at the end of my bed. My books were still on the shelves, and my windowsill was decorated with framed photos from times that I could barely remember. Even the same rug was on the floor with the same splodge of hair dye that I’d spilled when I dyed my hair purple one summer.

I frowned, feeling confused as to why everything was as I’d left it, far before the fall of the city. I felt like my whole body was suddenly much heavier than it was before.

“I don’t get it,” I mumbled.

“What?” Prompto asked.

“I don’t understand why my parents left everything in my room. When I left it wasn’t exactly on the best terms, so I’d thought that they would have thrown everything away,” I muttered, not really daring to step any further into the room. 

He didn’t respond for a little while, like he was trying to think of the right thing to say.

“I guess they really cared about you. I mean, parents are supposed to, right?”

“I was such a shitty daughter,” I sighed.

“Most teenagers are, aren’t they?”

“I wish I could blame it on hormones. That’d make me feel better. But I left Insomnia without much thought about them. But they left my room the same, like they thought I’d come back.”

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I mean, you always told me that you wanted to make them proud of you, so you clearly cared. In your own way.”

“I cared enough to want to prove them wrong,” I said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed with grief. Regardless, I stepped inside, Prompto alongside me. I was heading straight towards my bed to sit down for a moment.

As soon as I was sat on the bed, Prompto’s phone began to ring in his pocket. He pulled it out and sighed.

“I have to take this,” he said, excusing himself and leaving me alone in my room.

It smelt unbelievably musty. It made me miss the feeling of my lived in apartment, miles away in Lestallum. I could hear Prompto’s muffled voice through the door as he spoke, and that was probably the only thing keeping me together.

At least he was alive. That was what I focused on.

There wasn’t a big part of me that really wanted to look around anymore. I just wanted to go home and think about everything for a long while. I wanted to think about Noct, and my parents, and Amarantha, and I wanted to wonder what things would be like if they were all here.

I’d never thought that the light coming back would leave me feeling so empty and unsure about what the last ten years were for.

Maybe there wasn’t really much of a point. Maybe things had just been shitty because that’s just how destiny decided it needed to play out.

As I was getting lost in my thoughts, the door opened again, and Prompto stood in the doorway, a wry smile on his face.

“It was Gladio. He’s on his way to pick us up so we can go back to Lestallum,” he said. His words seemed careful, like he didn’t really want to accidentally upset me.

“Gladio’s going back too?” I asked, though the answer didn’t really matter.

“He has an apartment there, doesn’t he?” Prompto asked. I sighed as I nodded in response. Of course he did. It was the apartment he’d shared with Amarantha.

He came to sit beside me on the bed, and folded his hand over the top of mine as he looked around.

“If only I could go back to tell my younger self that one day he’d be in your bedroom,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood. It was enough to bring a chuckle out of me as I rested my head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry it’s not more interesting. It’s actually a pretty boring bedroom as things go,” I told him, closing my eyes for a moment.

“Nah. It’s pretty interesting to me. I mean, I didn’t know that you played any instruments,” he said, pointing towards the keyboard.

“I’m probably pretty terrible now. It’s been a long time. But maybe when we come back to Insomnia, I’ll start learning again.”

“You still want to come back?” he asked.

“I want to be with you. And I know you want to be here because of Noct.”

He laughed slightly, though it seemed quite humourless.

“You know me pretty well,” he admitted.

“So let’s start figuring out how we’re gonna get all of our stuff into your house,” I said, squeezing his hand.

It was perhaps twenty minutes before Gladio arrived. Prompto and I hopped into his car without a word, exchanging nods of acknowledgement with each other before we left my house behind.

The roads weren’t exactly easy to navigate. They’d fallen into disrepair over the years, and our progress of making it out of the city would be halted by debris that had crumbled exactly in our path.

It took us a long time to finally edge out of the city gates, but it gave me a little bit of time to see quite a few people wondering around the city centre. Some of them were already trying to clear things away, or trying to fix things in some small way.

I watched them for as long as I could before we were back on the long road that would eventually lead us back to Lestallum.

It was only when we were on the road and out of the city that Gladio let out a long sigh.

“Hey, I have something to tell you about,” he said, looking at me in his rear view mirror for a second before he focused on the road again.

“That sounds ominous,” I pointed out, and he chuckled.

“I guess it depends on how you take the news,” he said, his hands adjusting slightly so that he could grip the steering wheel of the car just a little tighter.

“Well you have me curious, at least,” I told him, leaning forward slightly so that I could hear him a little better. 

“I really don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it,” he breathed. “I have a fiancée.”

I leaned back slightly. Undeniably, there was a twinge in my chest. I couldn’t quite pinpoint why. I wasn’t sure if I felt hurt because he had, at least in one way, managed to move on from my best friend, who I missed dearly. Or maybe it was because I’d never even had the suspicion that he’d even been dating anyone, and he didn’t think to tell me.

Prompto shifted uncomfortably in the seat next to Gladio. That was enough to tell me that he knew, and he wasn’t really sure how he was supposed to bring it up.

“Can you, uh, say something?” Gladio finally asked, and it was only then that I’d realised that we’d been sat in silence for a good minute or two.

“I’m trying to think of the right thing to say,” I told him honestly. “I’m kind of upset that you didn’t tell me sooner.”

“I wasn’t really sure how to. I mean, I know how close you were to Amarantha. And I didn’t want you to think that I was replacing her. Because I’m not. I just don’t want to, y’know, grieve for the rest of my life.”

His explanation made at least some sense to me, but I still wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to say, or how I was supposed to act.

“Her name is Sana. I think you two would really get along if you wanted to give it the chance,” he said quietly, almost like he wasn’t really sure if he should have stayed quiet or not.

I nodded, though I was quite sure he was keeping his attention firmly on the road.

“I’m sure Amarantha would have wanted you to be happy,” I sighed, trying to search for something in me that made me feel better. Which was stupid, and selfish. I should have congratulated him, but I didn’t feel like it would have been genuine.

“But?”

“It feels weird.”

“I get that. I’m not expecting you to be happy about it right now, but I’d appreciate it if you could maybe work on it?” he half asked. “I mean, you and Prompto are getting hitched, so you’re gonna have me around for a long time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Me and Prompto went through hell to end up here. Ignis too. That’s not something that you just forget about when it’s all over to go our separate ways,” he told me. “So by extension, we’re gonna be involved in each others lives for a long time.”

“Right. Unless you annoy me. Then I get to ban you from the house,” I joked, trying to shift the weird atmosphere around us. “And I’ll tell you congratulations when I’m genuinely happy for you. I’m just sorry that’s not right now.”

“That’s understandable. Sorry for leaving it until now.”

“I’ll forgive you as long as you give me and Prompto the chance to get married first,” I pouted, folding my arms across my chest and turning my attention out of the window.

“Depends if you’re going to take another ten years when you literally could have done it before we even left for Altissia,” he laughed.

“Dude, we started dating the day we left,” Prompto said, punching his friend in the arm lightly before he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

Gladio responded with his loud, boisterous laugh, which could have shifted the atmosphere on it’s own.

“C’mon. Even Noct knew that you two were going to get married from way before that. And he wasn’t wrong, was he?” Gladio said, nudging Prompto with his elbow.

“How’d he figure that out?” I asked, suddenly curious.

“You should have heard how this one talked about you before you were dating. And when we were in Altissia. And when he was living in Hammerhead. Really, he never shut up about you. It was annoying,” Gladio explained, a grin spreading across his face as he gave Prompto a glance.

“You can’t embarrass me, Gladio,” Prompto yawned as he stretched out his arms. “I’m pretty sure she knows everything already.”

“I’m sure I could think up something if you needed a best man speech from me,” Gladio said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Who said I’m picking you?” Prompto frowned.

“Oh,” I said, leaning forward. “Probably not the perfect time to mention it, but you can’t pick Ignis to be your best man.”

“Wait, why not?” Prompto asked, turning to me with pleading eyes.

“I need him. I’m not telling you why until I tell him.”

He let out a long sigh, his head dropping.

“Then I suppose I don’t have much choice,” he complained.

“You sound like you’d rather have anyone but me,” Gladio said, reaching over to pat him on the back. Probably with a little more force that necessary.

“So do I get to be your best man?” Prompto asked.

“Pfft. No. That’ll be Ignis’ job at my wedding.”

“Wait, how is any of that fair?” Prompto whined.

“Because if Ignis ever gets married, then you’ll be his best man. Obviously.”

The two continued to bicker between themselves as I relaxed back into the seat, watching the sun bathed landscape whirl past me as we made our way back to Lestallum. All the while we travelled, I thought about Amarantha. I wished that she could have given me some kind of message, telling me that it was okay to be happy for Gladio.

Because somewhere, I was happy for him. I was happy that he’d found a way to heal his heart, and I had to believe that whoever his wife-to-be was, she made him happy in the same ways that Amarantha did all those years ago.

Lestallum seemed barren once we’d arrived back. The car park was empty, the streets weren’t brimming with people as they usually were, and everywhere seemed as if it was closed. I’d had the idea of having a celebratory meal at The Surgate’s Beanmine, but it was closed for what must have been the first time in ten years. Instead, we got back to the apartment, our stomachs very much empty and growling impatiently.

As I closed the door behind the two of us, I saw Prompto immediately go to scoop up the scrapbook that was on the floor, exactly where I’d thrown it in my anger. He let out a sad sigh as he collected the photographs that were scattered on the floor, but he never uttered a word of complaint.

“I think I have cup noodles,” I told him as I hobbled towards the kitchen.

“Sounds good,” he murmured as he tucked the photos back into the book, and he moved to place it on the bedside table.

I tried to ignore it as much as possible, but the way he’d picked it up made me feel guilty. Like I’d tried to destroy something that was precious to the both of us.

I focused instead on boiling the kettle. It wasn’t like there was a lot to focus on aside from the rumblings of the water. After retrieving the noodles from the cupboard, there was little left for me to do but wait and watch the kettle as it took it’s sweet time boiling.

I’d somehow managed to get completely lost in the kettle for a minute or two before I was suddenly snapped out of my strange trance by Prompto wrapping his arms around my stomach and hugging me from behind.

“I’m really sorry,” he whimpered as he buried his head in my shoulder.

“What did you do?” I asked, letting my hands ghost his own.

“I worried you. And I didn’t mean to.”

“You came back, like you said you would. We’re good, Prompto,” I smiled, turning to plant a small kiss on the side of his head.

“So you still want to get married?”

“Of course. Don’t ask silly questions,” I chuckled.

“Good. I’m glad,” he said, sounding somewhat relieved. “How about we get married as soon as possible? Like, next month.”

“You want me to organise a wedding in a month?” I asked, turning so that I was facing him.

“I’ll help. I just, y’know, want to get married. To you specifically.”

“Thanks for the clarification,” I said in a sarcastic tone.

“I’m serious, though. We could get married at Galdin Quay, and have the budget wedding that everyone will be jealous of. We can get married on the beach, and we can all camp out and celebrate without spending money we don’t have. Though if you want to wait to have like, your dream wedding, then I get it.”

“I’m pretty sure I have dream part of my wedding already sorted out,” I admitted. In response, he tilted his head curiously. “You. Duh. The most important part.”

We looked at each other for a few seconds before we both sniggered.

“That was super cheesy,” he giggled.

“You wanna start calling me ‘Moonlight’ so that we can be the ultimate cheesy couple?” I joked. He laughed again before he rested his forehead against mine.

“I love you, but no. Let’s not be _that_ couple.”

I giggled before we were snapped out of the moment by the kettle finally finishing it’s job. I was far too eager to eat the cheapest noodles I could think of.

“Alright, Prompto. Let’s get married on the beach, as soon as possible.”

“Really?” he asked, seemingly surprised by my answer.

“I mean, we’ve waited long enough, right? Let’s start living the future that Noct gave to us.”

He smiled, although it seemed that he was thinking of his best friend once again. There was a sadness in his eyes that he stood no chance of hiding.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Let’s start with those cup noodles first though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the feeling that the rest of the chapters are going to be overly long and I'm sorry that they're gonna take a little longer to get done, but we're so freaking close to the end now. I'm half dreading it, haha. 
> 
> As always, thank you for your comments and kudos. They really do mean the world to me, so thank you, thank you, thank you <3


End file.
